Illinois cattle ranchers are scrambling to find transportation solutions following the sudden closure of the Tyson beef processing plant on Thursday.
Tyson Foods announced the closure without prior notice on Thursday, August 13, prompting the immediate shutdown of the Joslin beef plant in Illinois. Meat industry leaders say that plant closures of this magnitude are typically preceded by a couple of months’ notice. The most recent example was the closure of Tyson’s beef plant in Nebraska, where two months’ notice was given before the facility ceased operations.
“Tyson’s announcement in Nebraska came with a two-month notice period, which gave producers time to reorganize their herds, adjust their plans, and seek alternatives. This makes the situation quite difficult to accept,” Josh St. Peters, executive vice president of the Illinois Cattlemen’s Association and a cattle producer himself, told Farm Progress.
Now, ranchers with cattle ready for market suddenly find themselves without a place to send their livestock. With the Joslin plant closed, the nearest meat-processing plant is more than 150 miles away, making local cattle transport a much more complicated undertaking. The options for ranchers in Joliet, Illinois, and the surrounding area now extend far beyond the local area: Aurora Packing Company, 160 miles away in North Aurora, Illinois; Iowa Premium, 160 miles in the opposite direction, in Tama, Iowa; JBS, 280 miles away, in Michigan; or the nearest remaining Tyson plant, 400 miles away, in Dakota City, Nebraska.
This massive increase in the distance ranchers must travel to transport their cattle to the slaughterhouse could seriously affect ranchers’ bottom lines, as well as the distribution of demand for livestock transporters across the country.
Tyson Foods has so far declined to comment on how many workers are affected by the closure or how many head of cattle the plant processed, according to KSL. KWQC reports that more than 2,700 jobs are likely to be affected.
“Tyson Foods is implementing strategic changes to its beef operations to position the company for long-term success,” the company wrote in an official statement.
“Tyson Foods will focus its beef business on three strategically located facilities in the central United States: Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas; and Amarillo, Texas, in order to establish a more competitive presence amid one of the most severe cattle shortages the country has ever experienced.”
“The company will close its beef facility in Joslin, Illinois, and its ready-to-sell products plant in Eagle Mountain, Utah. Capacity from these facilities will be transferred to others located in more strategic locations with ample room for growth. In addition, Tyson Foods is in the process of selling its beef plant in Pasco, Washington. With these changes, the company will resume a second shift at its Amarillo, Texas, plant as cattle become available. Taken together, these changes will allow the company to maintain a similar level of cattle slaughter within a more efficient and modern network.”
Below is a video showing employees suddenly leaving the facility following the announcement.
