Processor

Investing in the Future: Cargill Announces $90-Million Investment in Automation and Technology

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:33:19 GMT

Cargill plans to invest nearly $90 million in automation and technology at its Fort Morgan, Colo., beef plant over the next several years as part of its broader Factory of the Future initiative aimed at improving operational efficiency, yield and worker safety, the company announced Thursday.

“We’re at an extremely challenging point in the cattle cycle for packers with tight supplies and margins,” says Jarrod Gillig, senior vice president of Cargill’s North American beef business. “But now is the time we need to step up and make investments in our facilities to make sure they are working efficiently.”

The company has already put $24 million into technology upgrades at the plant since 2021. One of the newest tools to be deployed will be CarVe, Cargill’s proprietary, patent-pending computer vision system that measures red meat yield in real time. The technology gives managers instant feedback to help workers refine cutting techniques and reduce waste.

“I grew up on a farm/ranch and am blessed to still be active in our family’s cattle operation today, so I understand the importance of honoring the whole animal and doing right by the hard work of the ranchers and farmers who raise them. With tools like our new CarVe computer vision technology, we’re able to keep more high-quality protein in the food system, cut down on food waste, and make each animal count. That matters more than ever today.”

— Jarrod Gillig, senior vice president of Cargill’s North American beef business

“Before CarVe, yield data was always yesterday’s news,” Gillig says. “Now, we’re making decisions in the moment and saving product that would’ve been lost.”

Even a 1% improvement in yields could save hundreds of millions of pounds of beef annually, a meaningful gain at a time when U.S. cattle supplies are at their lowest levels in years.

“With CarVe, we are not replacing employees, it is empowering them to work more efficiently and effectively and helping us maximize the carcass,” Gillig summarizes.

The company has also invested in the Fort Morgan community, backing a $40 million workforce housing initiative that includes new townhomes and an 81-unit apartment complex scheduled to open this fall. Cargill has provided more than $500,000 in grants to local nonprofits for childcare access and housing-related support.

“Fort Morgan plays an important part in Cargill’s critical role as a food company to the nation and the world,” Gillig adds. “By partnering with local ranchers and farmers in Colorado and the region, we’re working hard to produce more food with less impact there so we can move it to store shelves and ultimately family dinner tables across the country.”

Your Next Read: Four Key Takeaways from the CattleFax Cow-Calf Survey

Hidden Hazards: Now is the Time to Rethink Gun Use in Cattle Handling

Tue, 13 May 2025 16:59:17 GMT

With the smallest cattle herd size on record, the impact of every pound of beef and every head lost due to foreign material contamination is even more significant today than it has ever been.

Pat Mies, Tyson Fresh Meats vice president food safety and quality assurance and beef industry food safety council chair, shares alarming math regarding foreign material contamination.

There is an economic loss due to cattle contaminated with foreign materials. Mies explains regulatory rules consider any foreign material, regardless of size, to be an adulterant and unfit for human consumption.

There’s more than 50 griding/further processing facilities across the U.S.

(NCBA)

The issue is industry-wide and not just state or region specific. Processors from across the U.S. have frequently reported challenges with foreign material in beef cattle.

“It’s not a Texas issue or New Mexico issue or a South Dakota issue,” Mies says. “It’s an entire U.S. issue.”

Trey Patterson, Padlock Ranch president and CEO, says “Food safety in our industry is non-negotiable; it’s now an expectation.”

(Schwartz, West Texas A&M)

Patterson says the 2022 National Beef Quality Audit revealed a significant problem: 100% of non-fed plants reported finding foreign objects in beef, with half experiencing customer complaints about items like shotgun pellets. And in the audit, 50% of fed plants are having the same issue.

Trent Schwartz, West Texas A&M University assistant professor, explains, “This is not a fed versus non-fed issue. This is all cattle being sold for meat consumption, and we believe highly that all of this is happening in the production phase, whether it be cattle gathering techniques or treating cattle.”

Mies acknowledges plants have access to resources and technology to catch foreign material but it is not 100% accurate.

“We have metal detectors, defect eliminators, X-ray systems and vision systems,” he admits. “We’re using artificial intelligence to train these systems to do a better job, to get rid of these foreign objects. And then we also have the human element — people watching product and pulling product that may have foreign objects in it. We have all these things in our plants, yet we still have problems. It’s not 100% foolproof. It’s not 100% fail-safe.”

Economic Impacts

Patrick Linnell, CattleFax analyst, provided an economic perspective regarding cull cows and the financial loss due to foreign material contamination.

“Cull cows is one area in particular where there’s an especially strong connection between animal welfare and husbandry and value to the producer,” Linnell says.

With cow inventory at its lowest since the 1950s, and as the beef and dairy industries try to stabilize and rebuild, Linnell says cull cow supplies will remain tight for the foreseeable future. Cull cows on average represent 20% of total marketing and management for an individual operation and the industry as a whole, he adds.

“The consumer wants all the beef through the system that we can provide them,” Linnell says. “That’s why making sure we don’t have to dispose of this high-value product because of foreign material contamination is important.”

The economic and reputational implications of foreign contamination are severe. With current beef prices, each contaminated animal represents a significant financial loss. Moreover, these incidents can damage domestic as well as international market confidence.

Linnell says that 50% of U.S. beef consumption is in the form of ground beef.

“If you do the simple math and look at what ground beef costs today in retail stores, it’s on average, about $5 per lb. across the U.S. That is a lot of money that we’re pulling out of the system because people decided to use a shotgun and bird shot to move stubborn cattle,” Mies says.

Starts With the Live Animal

Schwartz is the lead researcher working on a checkoff-funded study in partnership with NCBA regarding foreign material detection techniques in live animals before the animal enters the processing facility.

He says a wide range of foreign objects have been found in live animals, with metal shot being the most common. He points out that most of the foreign material found relates back to metal objects coming from the live side, not something that’s added to the product post-harvest.

His team is cataloging pictures and materials received from plants and individuals for future use and educational purposes. The primary source of these foreign objects appears to be cattle handling practices.

“Cattle get in rough country and won’t come out,” he says. “The first instinct is to use a shotgun or rat shot, and to move those cattle with some metal shot.”

Hunters are another concern for the shot residue.

“We don’t feel like this is a hunting issue,” he says. “This is direct contact, point-blank type issue. Criminal mischief has also been brought up. Criminal mischief or criminal acts is certainly a possibility.”

He also says unintended exposure or living conditions can lead to the foreign material such as cattle ingesting wire and it protrudes through the stomach and into the skirt or other organs.

Darts are also becoming an increasing concern, with some found deeply embedded in muscle tissue and even lungs.

“We need to start looking at the production side and how we can limit some of these items that are making their way into the plant,” Schwartz summarizes.

His ongoing research project is focusing on developing methods to detect objects in live animals under the hide using ultrasound, X-ray and metal detection techniques.

“The goal of the research is to determine efficacy. Does it work?” Schwartz explains. This work will allow for technology advancements to potentially identify foreign material throughout the supply chain in the live animal.

How You Can Help

Patterson suggests a voluntary, industry-wide effort to address the problem before it reaches processing facilities.

“I need your help,” Mies says in a plea to all beef producers. “I need you to talk to your friends, your family, your neighbors, anybody that you can about moving cattle with shotguns, and that it should never happen in our industry.”

To learn more about foreign materials found during beef processing watch this NCBA webinar:

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I Am A Drover — Utah Beef Producers

Fri, 24 May 2024 14:34:28 GMT

For nearly two years the beef industry has been buzzing about the prospects of new harvest capacity planned or under construction that might provide new markets for cattle. None of that attention, however, was focused on Utah, where Henry Barlow was busy planning and constructing a new beef packing plant that opened at the end of last month.

Barlow’s background is not in the packing business but that has not deterred him. A general contractor with 35 years of experience working in Utah, Barlow has owned several businesses, including Hybar Windows and Doors and Rocky Mountain Concrete, a construction and excavation business.

He’s also owned multiple ranches and said he watched fellow ranchers wait anywhere from six to nine months to obtain harvest dates for cattle in Utah. Such delays are crippling to ranchers and feeders who have clients to serve.

“All the ranchers I know think about it and talk about (a packing plant) for the last 25 years saying somebody ought to do something,” Barlow says. “So, I sold one of my ranches and decided to be that guy.”

Utah Beef Producers’ new facility is designed to harvest up to 500 head per day, and Barlow says that will include a mix of cows and fed cattle. Once fully operational, the plant will employ 100 people. UTB will offer custom harvesting for local ranchers and feeders, but Barlow is also set to launch a branded beef product of his own, Horizon Heritage Farms, which will offer premium, locally sourced beef with complete traceability from farm to fork.

“Over 500,000 cattle leave the state every year to be fed out or slaughtered outside the state of Utah,” Barlow says. “But if you roll the clock back 60 years, we finished cattle in Utah and we need to do that again.”

With about 323,000 beef cows, Utah ranks 27^th nationally, but Barlow believes the Richfield location is well-suited for the new plant with less shipping costs to the west coast than many of the major packers. Salt Lake City is 160 miles north and Las Vegas is 280 miles to the southwest.

“We’ll be able to satisfy so many Utah ranchers that have had to either sell their cows or send them off as calves and not do a finished operation because they did not have an option like this,” he says.

While Barlow plans the new plant to benefit producers, he’s also working with his community and utilizing state-of-the-art technology to minimize any environmental impacts. Utah Beef Producers’ focus is on sustainability, and the implementation of innovative waste management practices. That will include converting processing waste into biochar, a soil enhancer with the potential to reduce environmental footprint.

Barlow believes Utah Beef will be the first packing plant in the U.S. to make biochar onsite, which he says reduces methane gas in animals by up to 45% when used as a feed supplement additive. Additionally, an onsite wastewater treatment facility will help them recycle water and save an estimated 8 million gallons of water per year.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to be a powerful example for good,” Barlow says. “And one of the ways is sustainability.”

Liver Abscesses in Beef-on-Dairy Cattle are Costing Packers Big Money

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 14:54:48 GMT

The beef-on-dairy phenomenon has seen explosive growth, especially as dairy producers look to diversify their operations and capitalize on high beef prices. However, no rose grows without a few thorns. And the thorn in the side of this new sector of the dairy industry has been the prolific amount of liver abscesses found in these crossbred cattle.

For dairy producers, this common health issue amongst beef-on-dairy animals does not necessarily have a big impact on their bottom line. But according to Dr. Blake Foraker, an assistant professor and meat scientist at Washington State University, this growing problem is costing packers two main things – time and money.

Time

“Liver abscesses are a big nuisance for packers because it really slows them down,” Foraker says. “In our beef-on-dairy population, we’re seeing liver abscess prevalence in 50% or more of animals. And this is holding up the production line.”

Carcasses with liver abscesses must have the organ removed manually by workers. Additionally, it must be inspected to see if the abscess has adhered to any other surrounding tissues. In turn, the extra time needed for the removal of tissue and further inspections adds up, slowing down the production line and potentially reducing the number of animals that can be processed through the facility each day.

“Time is of high importance to these packing plants,” Foraker says. “And liver abscesses, especially the severe cases, can cause a lot of rail-outs and cost packers a lot of additional time. So, this issue is something that they would really like to have resolved.”

Money

With the number of native beef animals in limited supply due to ongoing pressure with persistent drought, dairy farmers have been able to help keep meat cases full with the help of these beef-on-dairy cross animals. And while the meat from these cross animals is similar, and in some cases, more valuable than conventional beef, liver abscesses have been tainting one of the most valuable cuts of meat – the skirt steak.

“What will happen is a liver abscess will become so severe that the outside skirt muscle will adhere to the liver. In 2023, that skirt steak muscle was listed as the second most valuable cut of meat on a per-pound basis, coming in behind the tenderloin. So if packers have to cut this portion of meat out, then they are throwing away a high-dollar product,” Foraker says.

According to the beef-on-dairy specialist, dairy producers may only notice a small dock in price on the final hanging weight for their beef-on-dairy animal that had a liver abscess. However, the packers are seeing a much larger loss if additional meat needs to be trimmed.

“The outside skirt muscle, even though it only comprises about five pounds of a carcass, is worth around $12 a pound. If we have to remove that muscle because it’s adhered to the liver because of a liver abscess, then that’s about $60 per animal, which is rather significant,” Foraker says. “Now if you’re paid on a carcass weight basis, that’s only $14 to you for losing five pounds because this trimming has to occur before the pay scale at the packing point. But if you’re a packer, you’ve just lost $45 because there is now no longer an outside skirt steak from that carcass.”

According to Michigan State Extension Beef Specialist, Jerad Jaborek, livers condemned at slaughter represent an annual loss to the U.S. beef industry of more than $60 million. And that does not take into account the approximately 5-15% ding to average daily gain, and the 9.7% reduction in feed efficiency they also actuate.

“Packers are working to identify producers that are doing a good job at minimizing the prevalence of liver abscesses in their beef-on-dairy animals,” Foraker says. “Once those producers are identified, the packers are more likely to want to do business with them over a producer who is known to supply animals with this issue. So this liver abscess problem is something dairy producers certainly need to keep their eye on.”

For more on Beef-on-Dairy, read:

This 87-Year-Old's Powerful Business Sense Helped Create a Booming Meat Processing Business in Iowa

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 14:44:10 GMT

Cut by cut. Slice by slice. Every detail counts for Edgewood Locker , a northeast Iowa-based business that’s been spliced together for nearly 60 years in 1966.

With no master plan, it started when Tom, a farmer, and Joan, a nurse at the time, were forced to find a new place to live.

(Farm Journal)

“We were on his dad’s farm for five years when his dad announced he was going to sell the farm. He wanted us to buy it, but we could not afford to buy a huge farm back then,” Joan explains.

So, they found a farm to rent three miles outside of Edgewood, until an accidental fire on that farm sparked another change.

“Talk about an act of fate. We knew the lady who owned that farm was going to make us move, because she believed those stories that we started the fire,” Joan remembers. “Tom came home one day and said, ‘The locker in town is for sale.’ So, we bought it.”

It was that decision that changed the course for the Kerns family. Neither Joan nor Tom knew anything about running a meat locker, but they had the tenacity to make it work.

“Tom wanted to do the actual meat cutting and that sort of thing, and I was going to do all the books and the book work,” says Joan.

The business started out with minimal equipment: only a saw and a grinder at the locker. That didn’t stop the Kerns from seeing phenomenal growth.

“And every year we were in business, we grew. Every year we got bigger. And so, finally, we outgrew our plant,” she says.

The growth wasn’t always easy, and it didn’t come without financial hardships. Joan says the couple borrowed money to expand and grow six different times.

“But I remember, maybe the second or third time Tom said, ‘I’m going to go up to the bank tomorrow and borrow some money for the next addition,’ and I went up to do our daily banking that day. And the girl said, ‘Oh, we can give you the money.’ So, I borrowed the money, got back home and I told him. I said, ‘Well, I got the money borrowed for our new addition.’ Tom said, ‘They let a woman do that?’ That’s the way it was back then,” says Joan.

A Force of Nature

Joan’s son Terry will be the first to tell you how much his mom was a driving force behind the scenes, if she didn’t always get the credit she deserved.

“She’s kind of a force of nature, there’s no doubt about it, and probably even more so than anybody realizes,” says Terry, who’s one of two second-generation owners of Edgewood Locker.

What makes Joan’s role so essential to their growth is the fact Joan’s husband, Tom, was dyslexic. So behind the scenes, Joan handled the paperwork and books, all while raising four kids at home.

Bringing in the Second Generation Straight Out of High School

Joan is still a true trailblazer today, as the Kerns’ unconventional ways and business decisions also helped fuel the family operation.

“The boys had come into the locker business as they graduated from high school, which really let us dream bigger,” says Joan.

That was in the early 1980s. Tom and Joan didn’t just see their sons Terry and Jim as employees, they allowed the boys to buy into the business fresh out of high school.

(Farm Journal)

“It wasn’t popular with their peers that they allowed Jim and me to buy in at such a young age, you know. They gave us a huge opportunity,” remembers Terry.

“And I think that’s why we grew as we did, because they were partners. They were going to be in this, and it made a big difference,” Joan says.

The growth has been impressive over the past 60 years, including building a new facility in the late 1990s that has seen even more expansion since.

“We built this business because she paid attention to detail. And she wanted to make sure it was done right. She still keeps us on our toes,” says Terry.

At 87-years-old, Joan is sharp, and attention to detail may still be one of her greatest strengths.

“She is not afraid to tell us when she thinks we’ve done something wrong,” says Terry.

Bringing in the Third Generation

While Joan doesn’t overlook the small things, she’s also the first to celebrate how much the family business has grown. It now includes four grandkids who have become part-owners.

“Oh my gosh, I did not see that coming. And they each bring their own experience, knowledge, their forte to the business,” says Joan.

“All of us in the third generation, all I feel have a very unique skill set, which allows all of us to bring something different to the table,” says Baili Maurer, one of Joan’s grandchildren who bought in as a third-generation owner.

“None of us really overlap much. We all have our own thing that we do, and it just works,” adds Katie, who’s also one of four grandchildren who are partners.

(Farm Journal)

Katie and Bailli, along with Luke Kerns and Payson Kerns, are the third-generation owners of Edgewood Locker.

“They’ve got experience, they’ve got education in meat science in business. So, as fun as it was to grow with Mom and Dad adding Jim and me, this next generation really has the potential to do amazing things,” says Terry.

Third-Generation Growth

“We’re just doing what we can to take the business to a new level,” says Baili.

“We really expanded into wholesale stores and retail stores carrying our products. And we just keep going with what the second generation and first generation have been doing, as well,” adds Katie.

The growth is evident everywhere you turn. Construction in their retail and lobby area is a clear sign of even more progress.

“We had a major expansion of 19,000-square-feet that we’ve been in now a little over a year and a half, and I think it’s running well,” says Terry. “We remodeled our old processing facility and updated that, and it looks like brand new.”

The decision to expand and remodel their retail and lobby area was propelled by the busiest season for Edgewood Locker: deer season.

“I think last year, we did 3,700 whole-carcass deer, and then over 3,500 batches of boned-out deer that came in, so well over 7,000 different batches to jerky,” Terry says.

With that type of volume, Edgewood Locker has also been able to invest in bigger and better equipment.

“I’d like to say we had this great master plan, but we never had a real plan to say, ‘Well, next year, we’re going to get into wholesaling, or next year, we’re going to do this.’ We just kind of took it as it came. Something presented itself, we ran with it, and ran hard with a lot of it,” says Terry.

A Legacy Worth Sharing

With 130 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees, Edgewood Locker also offers other custom processing, and has products for sale, in more than 100 retail stores across Iowa. And it’s that side of the business the third generation has already helped expand.

“I hope we can just continue the legacy,” says Baili.

“I’m hopeful that we can just keep doing like we’re doing, keep growing where we can and keep expanding things and have it all set up for the fourth generation if they would like to join in someday,” Katie says.

Walls of awards are a product of what Joan and Tom started in 1966, but that isn’t what Joan is most proud of today. The greatest gift just may be the fourth generation and the chance to carry on a business that started on hopes and dreams.

Tyson CEO Confesses Company Culture Was Lazy After Pandemic

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 14:24:18 GMT

“We got fat and lazy,” Tyson Foods Inc.’s leader candidly shared about his company’s underperformance in an interview on Tuesday following the opening of Tyson’s new $300-million plant in Danville, Va., Bloomberg reported.

CEO Donnie King made comments about the company getting “really comfortable” and “inefficient.”

When prices for pork, beef and chicken surged due to demand and supply disruptions during the pandemic, profits boosted for some companies such as Tyson. When demand dropped, America’s biggest meat company was hit hard, the article said.

Tyson’s fiscal year ended in September, and the company’s adjusted net income plunged 85%, the lowest in more than a decade, with profit margins largely trailing those of publicly traded rivals, Bloomberg reported.

S&P Global Inc. dropped Tyson’s credit rating Tuesday to BBB — the second-lowest investment grade rating — and cited “inefficient production assets” among the factors that contributed to the company’s underperformance in recent years. Corrective measures and investments in more productive assets will help drive profit improvement, particularly in the chicken business, the agency said.

Although the company isn’t where it needs to be, King told Bloomberg they are well on their way to being there again.

King was named head of Tyson in June 2021. He first joined the company in 1982. After leaving in 2017, he rejoined Tyson in September 2020.

Tyson will continue expanding capacity to meet growing demand for branded products, such as its Ballpark sausages and Hillshire hams, King said in the article, which typically command higher margins than commodity meat cuts.

Sen. Booker Proposes Industrial Agricultural Accountability Act

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 15:16:33 GMT

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has unveiled new legislation targeting America’s large livestock “corporations and industrial operators,” seeking to hold such entities accountable for disaster mitigation and to ensure those entities are complying with animal welfare regulations.

The Industrial Agricultural Accountability Act would end line-speed increases and “meatpacker self-inspection programs” for animal slaughter, prohibit slaughter of all downed animals and require “more humane treatment of livestock transported for long periods.”

Booker announced his proposal with a news release posted to his website Tuesday.

The proposed legislation would also require large entities to register with USDA, submit a disaster preparedness plan and pay a fee to establish a fund focused on disaster events.

“This new fund, the High-Risk AFO Disaster Mitigation Fund, will be utilized to enforce disaster mitigation plans and ensure that the most humane practices are used if depopulation is absolutely necessary,” the release said.

Booker also proposes to invest resources for higher-welfare slaughter technology in meat and poultry processing facilities and establish a pilot program to train and employ more part-time inspectors for small processing plants.

“We’ve seen multiple recent crises that have shined a light on the threat that corporate meat producers and their web of factory farms represent to workers, animals, the environment, and rural communities,” booker said. “Built by agribusinesses, the industrial livestock and poultry system is designed to maximize production– while externalizing risk and liability– to ensure corporate profits even when the system fails.”

The full text of the bill can be found here. The list of supporting organizations can be found here.

Industry Needs Action, Despite ‘No Nothing Burger’ Hearings

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 05:28:31 GMT

After a week filled with congressional hearings on the Cattle Market Price Discovery and Transparency Act including CEOs from “The Big Four,” Don Schiefelbein, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) described it as “kind of a big no nothing burger.”

Despite a “no nothing burger” hearing, in a recent “AgriTalk” segment, Schiefelbein joined host Chip Flory to highlight where he feels the industry needs to see action.

Processing Capacity

Cattle capacity and hook space, as well as lifting regulations and the burden of getting a packing plant up and running are a priority to Schiefelbein. He believes this will be valuable to ranchers in regaining leverage.

Cattle Contract Library

Starting as a pilot project, “How we construct [the library] determines whether or not we’re going to be truly successful,” Schiefelbein said. He appreciates the fact the library can be tweaked or changed as needed in its early stages.

Transparency is also important to Schiefelbein regarding the library. He hopes it will be effective in helping producers and not just be a tool to help the packer.

Packers may be able to decipher their contracts from their competitors, which Schiefelbein describes as a concern. This project, originally designed to help the producer, might end up being more beneficial to the packer.

Livestock Mandatory Reporting

Oversight on Livestock Mandatory Reporting is extremely important to Schiefelbein, ensuring it gets renewed and reauthorized.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

There needs to be some results from the DOJ about where they are on their investigation, Schiefelbein believes. The JBS settlement from earlier this year had Schiefelbein saying, “It’s hard for a rancher to accept that somebody would settle for tens of millions of dollars and not have wrongdoing.”

Alternative Marketing Agreements (AMA) and Cash Trade

The Cattle Market Price Discovery and Transparency Act is not set out to kill AMAs, Flory said. “We just need more transparency. We need more on-the-ground price discovery happening in that southern market in particular.”

“We want more cash trade,” Schiefelbein explained. “We just want it in the hands of producers to control it.”

In addition, he’s concerned about how a mandatory level of trade could affect producers in AMAs. In an area where cash trade needs to be increased to meet the minimum level, will the larger or smaller producers lose their agreements?

The implementation and unintended consequences of government involvement concerns Schiefelbein. “Those of us who lived when the government got into the dairy buy-out in our marketing world … remember quite well it was not intended to be that way, but the impact was absolutely devastating,” Sciefelbein said.

He also brought up the old quote from former president Reagan saying whenever the government comes to your place and says ‘I’m from the government, I’m here to help.’ Maybe you better close the door.

Listen to the full “AgriTalk” interview with NCBA’s Don Schiefelbein here .

Walmart Invests In Proposed Nebraska Packing Plant

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 16:57:51 GMT

Walmart announced Wednesday it will invest in Sustainable Beef LLC, the proposed $325 million beef processing facility in North Platte, Neb. In a statement, Walmart said it has signed an agreement to acquire a minority stake in the rancher-owned start up.

Walmart said its investment is part of a “broader strategic partnership to source top-quality Angus beef from Sustainable Beef.” Indeed, this is not Walmart’s first venture with producers to provide beef for its retail stores. Three years ago, Walmart announced a partnership with 44 Farms to source high-quality Angus beef for about 500 of its stores in the Southeast.

At the time, Walmart’s senior vice president of meat wrote in a blog post that the company is on a mission to make “the beef America eats better.” Neal said customers want freshness and affordability, but they also want to know where their food comes from. By sourcing beef directly from farmers and ranchers, Walmart is aiming to change the dynamics of the beef industry, Neal wrote.

Wednesday’s announcement sends Walmart further down that path. Of Sustainable Beef, Walmart says the partnership helps supplement the current beef industry and provides additional opportunities for ranchers to increase their business. As part of the investment, Walmart will also have representation on Sustainable Beef’s board.

Sustainable Beef’s plans are to process 400,000 head per year (about 1,500 head per day), 100,000 of which will be cows. The plant would employ 875 workers and is expected to generate another 1,000 jobs in supporting businesses. Groundbreaking is scheduled for September, with the facility opening in late 2024.

In March, North Platte’s Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) unanimously approved a contract with Sustainable Beef, opening the door for tax increment financing for the infrastructure for the new plant.

“At Walmart, we are dedicated to providing high-quality, affordable beef to our customers, and an investment in Sustainable Beef LLC will give us even more access to these products,” said Tyler Lehr, senior vice president of merchandising for deli services, meat and seafood, Walmart U.S. “We know Sustainable Beef LLC has a responsible approach to beef processing, one that includes creating long-term growth for cattle ranchers and family farmers. This investment provides greater visibility into the beef supply chain and complements Walmart’s regeneration commitment to improve grazing management.”

Sustainable Beef LLC will work with cattle feeders and ranchers to understand critical elements of the supply chain cycle, such as grain sourcing and grazing management. Animal care will follow the Five Freedoms, and there will be a consistent approach to antibiotic use and reporting across herds in line with Walmart’s Position on Antibiotics in Animals, which asks suppliers to adopt and implement American Veterinary Medical Association Judicious Use Principles of Antimicrobials. All of these components will help Sustainable Beef LLC to improve and refine the beef supply chain to provide quality beef for our customers.

“We set out on a journey two years ago to create a new beef processing plant to add some capacity to the industry and provide an opportunity for producers to integrate their business of raising quality cattle with the beef processing portion of the industry and do it in a sustainable manner,” said David Briggs, CEO of Sustainable Beef LLC. “During this journey we found that Sustainable Beef and Walmart aligned on continuing to improve how we care for our animals and crops and provide consumers the positive experience of enjoying quality beef.”

Walmart said its investment in Sustainable Beef is the latest step in the retailer’s commitment to increase access to high-quality beef at an affordable price for its customers, while boosting capacity for the beef industry and ensuring long-term economic viability for cattle ranchers.

NCBA Pleased to See Next Steps in Processing Capacity Funding

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 14:29:37 GMT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of up to $215 million in grants and resources as part of a continued effort to strengthen the meat and poultry processing sector and create a more resilient food supply chain. NCBA appreciates the Administration’s efforts to expand and diversify processing capacity and looks forward to working with USDA to ensure proper implementation of the funds.

“Investing in packing capacity is critically important for the cattle industry,” said NCBA Director of Government Affairs and Market Regulatory Policy Tanner Beymer. “The expansion of regional processing facilities will bolster resiliency within the beef supply chain and help return marketing leverage to cattle producers.”

As part of previously announced federal investments totaling $1 billion, these funds will be allocated to three main areas: the newly created Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP), workforce development, and technical assistance.

Background:

USDA Rural Development will make $150 million available through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). Under this program, grants of up to $25 million will be available to offset costs of construction, expansion, and acquisition of equipment.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will allocate $40 million dollars to existing workforce development programs to assist new and expanding processors with recruiting, training, and retraining adequate labor.

USDA is also making $25 million available through the MPPEP for technical assistance. These funds will be used to establish partnerships between organizations who specialize in meat and poultry processing and MPPEP applicants, recipients, and future applicants of Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants .