A $325 million beef processing facility will be constructed in Mills County, Iowa.
Cattlemen?s Heritage ? a newly formed corporation ? announced plans Friday morning to construct a 1,500-head-per-day beef processing facility north of Glenwood along the Interstate 29 corridor. Project developer Chad Tentinger of Des Moines-based TenCorp, Inc. tells IARN the facility will employ up to 750 workers and have an estimated annual economic impact of $1.1 billion.
?We intend to break ground in the spring of 2022,? said Tentinger. ?We intend to have the facility open and running in the winter of 2023 and be at full capacity by the end of 2024. Locally, there will be 750 new employees. More than that, there are several thousand that will have to be employed around the county and local area to service such a plant.?
Tentinger says recent market conditions ? including several years of weak cattle markets, strong retail prices and the increased amount of investment capital on the sidelines during the pandemic ? are other reasons to move forward to the facility?s construction to expand processing capacity in the state.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig took part in Friday?s announcement, which was held at the Mills County Economic Development office in Glenwood. Naig says the new facility will create additional market access for family farmers in Iowa.
?We know that livestock is one of the best ways for the next generation ? beginning farmers ? to get into an operation,? said Naig. ?But, if you don?t have access to a market and you don?t have a bid for your cattle, then that is problematic. We know that more options is a good thing.?
The Iowa Cattlemen?s Association supports the project, according to its CEO Matt Deppe.
?When we talk about leverage and the ability our producers have ? and have always had ? to produce the highest quality and safest beef in the country, this is an absolute great announcement,? said Deppe. ?It took a small group of very focused individuals to put together. We?re onto the next steps of getting this thing rolling and putting Iowa beef on people?s plates.?
The new Cattlemen?s Heritage facility will have an average annual wage of $55,000 plus benefits.
