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The Midwest Cattleman · October 6, 2022 · P3














                    October 6, 2022   Volume 28   No. 9

       AFG BREAKS GROUND ON MISSOURI BEEF PLANT BILLION DOLLAR BEEF PLANT SEARCHES FOR HOME
                                By Greg Henderson                                                     By Greg Henderson
                                                         The project is       Western Lega-
                                                      expected to  gen- cy        Development
                                                      erate  $1  billion  Corp. continues to
                                                      in annual eco- search for a site to
                                                      nomic  impact  in  build its $1.1 bil-
                                                      Missouri  as  the  lion beef process-
                                                      775,000 square- ing facility after
                                                      feet  plant  will  being rejected by
                                                      include  a  har- two cities in the
                                                      vest floor, carcass  northern plains.
         American Foods Group groundbreaking in Warren   chillers, fabrica-   Meatingplace
         County, Missouri. (AFC)                      tion area, ren- reports that both
         American Foods Group,                        dering,     further Rapid City, S.D.
      LLC (AFG) broke ground             processing, storage coolers,  and           Cheyenne,     Megan R. Kingsbury, president, and CEO of Western
                                                                                                   Development, confirmed “that her company is the unnamed
      on its $800 million state-of-      freezers and loading docks.        WY, are no longer      developer looking for a site in conversations with Cheyenne,
      the-art beef harvest facility         "Today marks the start of  considered in the           and said Wyoming is but one of several states that the project
      in Warren County, MO. AFG          our  future in Warren Coun- running for the               has approached.” USDA
      says the plant will process        ty, Missouri, the addition of  plant. When West-
      2,400 head of cattle per day       industry-needed hook space  ern Legacy first announced               She declined to name other
      once fully operational by the      and fulfilling the needs of  its intentions to build the             locations under consider-
      end of 2024.                       our customers, partners, and  8,000-head per day plant,              ation, however.
         "As a third-generation          consumers for beef demand,"  Rapid City was the proposed                The plant "still is on track
      farmer and cattleman my-           said Steve Van Lannen, Pres- site. But  the city’s  industri-        to break ground in 2023," she
      self, I am proud to welcome        ident and COO of American  al center developer said the              said, and begin operations by
      AFG to Missouri,” said Gov-        Foods Group.                       proposed space was not large      2026. And that plant is just
      ernor Mike Parson. “This is a         American Foods Group  enough to accommodate a                     the first of several, accord-
      major development that will        is a family-owned, U.S. beef  plant that large.                      ing to Western Legacy's lon-
      benefit Missouri's agricultur-     processing company based in          Then rumors began that          ger-term plans  in the meat
      al producers and consumers         Green Bay, WI, with locations  Cheyenne might be the next            industry, she said.
      for years to come. We couldn't     throughout the Midwest.            choice for the plant, but that       "There are a lot of consid-
      be more excited for AFG's ex-      Drovers                            city’s mayor said it could not    erations, especially from the
      pansion in Missouri."                                                 meet the water demand of a        point of view of a green de-
                                                                            meat plant that size.             velopment," Kingsbury said.
                                                                                                   reported
                                                                              Meatingplace
                 HEIFER AND COW SLAUGHTER                                   Megan R. Kingsbury, presi-        "We have to negotiate with
          By Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of   dent and CEO of Western De-  municipalities,  and    they
                   Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University     velopment,  confirmed “that       move on their own timeline.
         Increased     cull   cow                                           her company is the unnamed        In some cases, they are wait-
      slaughter and number of                                               developer looking for a site      ing on federal funding to be
      heifers in the feedlot mix                                            in conversations with Chey-       able to work to scale with us."
      have been key factors to                                              enne, and said  Wyoming is        Drovers
      watch in 2022. Each have                                              but one of several states that
      implications for beef pro-                                            the project has approached.”
      duction and cattle sup-
      plies both this year and
      moving forward.
         Beef cow slaughter has
      been stronger through-                                                                                Coming Sales-46
      out 2022. During August,                                                                              Life is Simple-5
      beef cow slaughter was                Regionally, cow slaughter in                                    Market Report-8
      up about 9 percent above a         the Southern Plains is much
      year ago which is about 24,000     higher than in 2021 where                                          Agribusiness
      head higher while dairy cow        drought has been a major fac-                                      Directory-44
      slaughter was estimated to be      tor. Region 6 consists of Arkan-
      down 1,600 head. Year to date,     sas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
      beef cow slaughter is about 13     Oklahoma, and Texas and beef
      percent above 2021.                             continued on page 10
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