Cattlemen's Heritage Acquires Site for New Iowa Beef Plant

Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company announced Thursday it has finalized the purchase of a 132-acre site in Mills County, Iowa, for the construction of its beef processing facility. The company expects to begin construction this year on a $520-million facility which will be fronted by Interstate 29 and situated at the Pottawattamie-Mills County line southeast of Omaha, Neb.

Cattlemen’s Heritage first announced its intentions to build the new plant in June of 2021 with a daily harvest capacity of 2,000-head and employing up to 800 workers. An economic impact statement placed a value of $1.1 billion annually on the local economy.

“A facility of our size and scale requires a certain level of infrastructure and public utilities,” said principal developer Chad Tentinger. “In addition to those requirements, this site checks all the boxes for logistics when it comes to the level of truck traffic for cattle and raw goods coming into the plant and processed goods leaving the facility. Its proximity to I-80 is another logistical plus. With the eventual need for up to 800 employees, its location in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan statistical area is another valuable attribute.”

Cattlemen’s Heritage last year selected Gross-Wen Technologies, a leading algae-based wastewater treatment company, to provide contained treatment at the site. The technology will capture and offset several thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.

“That’s the equivalent of avoiding the use of 242,000 gallons of gasoline every year,” Tentinger said. “The nitrogen and phosphorus that it will recover will be converted into valuable, natural fertilizer for re-use by area farmers as part of our goal to create a carbon-neutral footprint.”