Execution Copy


                                 AMENDMENT NO. 1


                  AMENDMENT NO. 1 dated as of November 19, 1997, among
SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC., a corporation duly organized and validly existing under
the laws of the State of Virginia (the "Borrower"); each of the Subsidiaries of
the Borrower identified under the caption "SUBSIDIARY GUARANTORS" on the
signature pages hereto (individually, a "Subsidiary Guarantor" and,
collectively, the "Subsidiary Guarantors" and, together with the Borrower, the
"Obligors"); each of the lenders that is a signatory hereto (individually, a
"Lender" and, collectively, the "Lenders"); and THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK as
agent for the Lenders (in such capacity, together with its successors in such
capacity, the "Administrative Agent").

                  The Borrower, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the Lenders and the
Administrative Agent are parties to a Five-Year Credit Agreement dated as of
July 15, 1997 (as heretofore modified and supplemented and in effect on the date
hereof, the "Credit Agreement"), providing, subject to the terms and conditions
thereof, for extensions of credit to be made by said Lenders to the Borrower in
an aggregate principal or face amount not exceeding $300,000,000.

                  The Borrower, the Subsidiary Guarantors, the Lenders and the
Administrative Agent wish to amend the Credit Agreement in certain respects, and
accordingly, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

                  Section 1.  Definitions.  Except as otherwise defined
in this Amendment No. 1, terms defined in the Credit Agreement
are used herein as defined therein.

                  Section 2.  Amendments.  Subject to the satisfaction of
the conditions precedent specified in Section 4 below, but
effective as of the date hereof, the Credit Agreement shall be
amended as follows:

                  2.01. References in the Credit Agreement (including references
to the Credit Agreement as amended hereby) to "this Agreement" (and indirect
references such as "hereunder", "hereby", "herein" and "hereof") shall be deemed
to be references to the Credit Agreement as amended hereby.

                  2.02. The definition of "Capital Expenditures" in Section 1.01
of the Credit Agreement shall be amended to read as follows:







                                      - 2 -



                  "Capital Expenditures" means, with respect to any Person, for
         any period, all expenditures made and liabilities incurred during such
         period for the acquisition of assets (including any replacement in the
         ordinary course of business without reduction for sales, retirements or
         replacements) which are not, in accordance with GAAP, treated as
         expense items for such Person in the year made or incurred or as a
         prepaid expense applicable to a future year or years, and shall include
         all Capital Lease Obligations, but shall not include expenditures made
         or liabilities incurred during such period for Acquisitions or
         Investments. The amount of Capital Expenditures in any period shall be
         calculated without duplication in accordance with GAAP. Notwithstanding
         the foregoing, with respect to the acquisition of replacement sows by
         the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of
         business, the amount included in Capital Expenditures shall be the
         acquisition cost of such sows, reduced by the proceeds received by the
         Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries from the sale of the replaced sows.

                  2.03. Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement shall be amended by
adding the following new definitions and inserting the same in the appropriate
alphabetical locations:

                  "'Joint Venture' means any Investment by the Borrower or any
         of its Subsidiaries as a joint venturer or partner in any Person (other
         than a Subsidiary) principally engaged in a business in which the
         Borrower and its Subsidiaries are permitted by Section 6.03(b) to be
         engaged.

                  "'Net Cash Proceeds' means the aggregate cash proceeds
         received by the Borrower from its issuance of the Senior Subordinated
         Notes, net of transaction fees, costs and expenses incurred by the
         Borrower in connection with such issuance."

                  "'Senior Subordinated Notes' means senior subordinated notes
         issued by the Borrower prior to December 31, 1998 having the material
         terms and conditions set forth in the offering memorandum relating
         thereto, a copy of which has been furnished to the Lenders prior to
         November __, 1997, and any additional series of senior subordinated
         notes issued by the Borrower at the same rate of interest, and having
         substantially the same material terms and conditions, as such senior
         subordinated notes on or before the first anniversary of the date of
         issuance of such senior subordinated notes, as the same shall, subject
         to






                                      - 3 -



         Section 6.14, be modified and supplemented and in effect
         from time to time."

                  2.04. Sections 6.04(b), (c) and (e) of the Credit Agreement
shall be amended to read as follows:

                  "(b) Investments by the Borrower existing on the date hereof
         in the capital stock of its Subsidiaries and Investments by the
         Borrower existing on the date hereof described in Part B of Schedule
         3.14;"

                  "(c) Investments made by the Borrower in any Subsidiary
         and made by any Subsidiary in the Borrower or any other
         Subsidiary;"

                  "(e) Investments constituting Acquisitions or Joint
         Ventures permitted by Section 6.12(f);"

                  2.05. The proviso contained in Section 6.08 of the Credit
Agreement shall be amended by (a) substituting a comma for "and" immediately
preceding clause (vi) thereof and (b) adding a new clause (vii) thereto reading
as follows:

         "and (vii) clause (a) of the foregoing shall not apply to any
         requirement that obligations of the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, as
         the case may be, that are pari passu or subordinated in right of
         payment to the Senior Subordinated Notes or the guaranties by
         Subsidiaries of the Borrower in respect thereof, as the case may be,
         may not be secured unless the Senior Subordinated Notes and/or such
         guaranties are at least equally and ratably secured"

                  2.06. Section 6.12(c) of the Credit Agreement shall be amended
to read as follows:

                  "(c) The Borrower will not permit the ratio of Consolidated
         Total Liabilities to Consolidated Tangible Net Worth on any date to be
         more than the ratio set forth below opposite the period during which
         such date falls:

                           Period                              Ratio

                  From the Effective Date through
                    May 2, 1998                               3.50 to 1
                  From May 3, 1998 and thereafter             3.25 to 1

                  2.07. Section 6.12(f) of the Credit Agreement shall be amended
to read as follows:
                  "(f) (1) Except as permitted by Section 6.12(f)(2) below, the
         Borrower will not permit the sum (without duplication) of (i) Capital
         Expenditures made by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in any fiscal
         year of the Borrower plus (ii) the Aggregate Consideration for all
         Acquisitions made by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in such fiscal
         year plus (iii) an amount (not less than zero) equal to any net
         increase from the beginning of such fiscal year through the end of such
         fiscal year in the aggregate amount of Investments in Joint Ventures,
         to exceed the higher of (x) the sum of Consolidated Net Income plus
         depreciation for the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for such fiscal year
         or (y) $100,000,000."

                  (2) The sum (without duplication) of (i) Capital Expenditures
         made by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in any fiscal year of the
         Borrower plus (ii) the Aggregate Consideration for all Acquisitions
         made by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in such fiscal year plus
         (iii) an amount (not less than zero) equal to any net increase from the
         beginning of such fiscal year through the end of such fiscal year in
         the aggregate amount of Investments in Joint Ventures may exceed the
         limit established by Section 6.12(f)(1), provided that the aggregate
         amount of all such excesses permitted by this Section 6.12(f)(2) for
         all fiscal years of the Borrower shall not exceed the Net Cash Proceeds
         of the Senior Subordinated Notes received by the Borrower at or prior
         to the time of determination."

                  2.08. Article VI of the Credit Agreement is hereby amended by
adding the following new Section 6.14 and inserting the same in the appropriate
numerical location:

                           "SECTION 6.14.  Senior Subordinated Notes.  If any
         Default then exists or would result therefrom, the Borrower
         shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to,
         purchase, redeem, retire or otherwise acquire for value, or
         set apart any money for a sinking, defeasance or other
         analogous fund for the purchase, redemption, retirement or
         other acquisition of, or make any voluntary payment or
         prepayment of the principal of or interest on, or any other
         amount owing in respect of, the Senior Subordinated Notes,
         except (subject to the terms of subordination thereof) for
         regularly scheduled payments of principal and interest in
         respect thereof required pursuant to the terms) hereof.  The
         Borrower shall not, and shall not permit any of its
         Subsidiaries to, consent to any modification, supplement or
         waiver of any of the provisions of any agreement, instrument or other
         document evidencing or relating to the Senior Subordinated Notes
         without the prior consent of the Administrative Agent (with the
         approval of the Required Lenders) if such modification, supplement or
         waiver would be adverse in any material respect to the interests of the
         Borrower, any of its Subsidiaries or any of the Lenders."

                  Section 3. Representations and Warranties. The Borrower
represents and warrants to the Lenders that the representations and warranties
set forth in Article III of the Credit Agreement are true and complete on the
date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof and as if each reference in
said Article III to "this Agreement" included reference to this Amendment No. 1.

                  Section 4. Conditions Precedent. The amendments to the Credit
Agreement set forth in Section 2 hereof shall become effective, as of the date
hereof, upon (a) the execution and delivery of this Amendment No. 1 by the
Obligors, the Required Lenders and the Administrative Agent and (b) in the case
of the effectiveness of the amendment set forth in Section 2.06 hereof, the
issuance by the Borrower of the Senior Subordinated Notes referred to in Section
2.03 hereof in an aggregate principal amount of not less than $100,000,000.

                  Section 5. Acknowledgment. The Administrative Agent
acknowledges that it has received the projections and certificate referred to in
Section 6.01(f) of the Credit Agreement sufficient to allow the Borrower to
issue Senior Subordinated Notes in an aggregate principal amount of up to
[$125,000,000] bearing interest at a rate not exceeding 10% per annum.

                  Section 6. Miscellaneous. Except as herein provided, the
Credit Agreement shall remain unchanged and in full force and effect. This
Amendment No. 1 may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which
taken together shall constitute one and the same amendatory instrument and any
of the parties hereto may execute this Amendment No. 1 by signing any such
counterpart. This Amendment No. 1 shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the law of the State of New York.






                                      - 4 -




                  IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Amendment No. 1 to be duly executed and delivered as of the day and year first
above written.

                                           SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Vice President,
                                               Secretary and Treasurer

                                           THE SMITHFIELD PACKING COMPANY,
                                              INCORPORATED

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           GWALTNEY OF SMITHFIELD, LTD.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           PATRICK CUDAHY INCORPORATED

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           JOHN MORRELL & CO.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           LYKES MEAT GROUP, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           BROWN'S OF CAROLINA, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           HANCOCK'S OLD FASHIONED COUNTRY
                                             HAMS, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary


                                           VALLEYDALE FOODS, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           COPAZ PACKING CORPORATION

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           SUNNYLAND, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary

                                           SMITHFIELD PACKING-LANDOVER, INC.

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:  Aaron D. Trub
                                               Title:  Secretary








                                     - 5 -




                                           THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK,
                                             individually and as
                                             Administrative Agent


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           COOPERATIEVE CENTRALE RAIFFEISEN -
                                           BOERENLEENBANK B.A. "RABOBANK
                                             NEDERLAND", NEW YORK BRANCH


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           AGRIBANK, FCB

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:



                                           CREDIT AGRICOLE INDOSUEZ


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           DG BANK, DEUTSCHE
                                             GENOSSENSCHAFTSBANK,
                                             CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:

                                           NATIONSBANK, N.A.


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           FBS AG CREDIT, INC.


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           SUNTRUST BANK, ATLANTA


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:

                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:





                                     - 6 -



                                           BANK OF TOKYO-MITSUBISHI TRUST
                                             COMPANY


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:

                                           DRESDNER BANK AG



                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:



                                           FARM CREDIT SERVICES OF THE
                                             MIDLANDS, PCA


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           HARRIS TRUST AND SAVINGS BANK



                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:


                                           SANWA BANK LIMITED


                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title:









                                     - 7 -


                                           THE SUMITOMO BANK, LIMITED,
                                             NEW YORK BRANCH



                                           By_________________________
                                               Name:
                                               Title: