Cargill to close Texas beef processing plant
Minnesota-based Cargill plans to shut down operations at a Texas processing plant Feb. 1 after the size of the cattle herd fell to a 60-year low and feed costs increased due to drought, Bloomberg reported.
The Plainview plant will close to reduce a strain on the company’s beef business, John Keating, president of Cargill Beef, said Thursday in a statement. The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level since 1952, he said.
Cattle that had been headed for the Plainview plant will instead go to Cargill’s remaining beef processing plants in Texas, Kansas and Colorado, the agribusiness giant said.
Company officials said the plant employs 2,000 people and workers will get help finding other jobs. Cargill is the nation's largest beef processor.
