SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – After nearly two years of construction, the first hogs have been slaughtered at a giant Sioux City pork plant that is eventually expected to employ 2,000 people and process 21,000 hogs a day. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott told the Sioux City Journal that Seaboard Triumph Foods processed about 100 hogs Wednesday as crews test equipment ahead of a Sept. 5 opening.

The company plans to start a single shift with up to 900 production workers in the 925,000-square foot plant. Initially, the plant will have a capacity of slaughtering 10,500 hogs daily. The $300 million plant was announced in May 2015.

Seaboard Triumph plans to hire a second shift by next summer, bringing total employment to about 2,000 workers who could slaughter about 6 million hogs annually.