The developer of a new beef processing plant targeted for western Iowa says the project expects to receive funding from the Biden Administration’s recently announced Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Action Plan.
Chad Tentinger, founder of Cattlemen’s Heritage, told WNAX radio in Yankton, SD, he expects the project will receive partial funding through the $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funds promised by the White House for expansion of independent processing capacity.
“We are in fundraising right now through various means, talking to a lot of investors at this point,” Tentinger told WNAX. “We are 75% done with all blueprints and planning. We have the site under control. We have done grid sampling and boring samples to make sure it’s stable. We’re moving along quite nicely.”
Cattlemen’s Heritage expects to break ground late this spring on the proposed facility in Mills County, Iowa, south of the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. When complete, the facility would process roughly 400,000 head of cattle per year, about 1,500-head per day. The plant would employ up to 750 workers and have an estimated annual economic impact of $1.1 billion.
Tentinger says the project is on schedule to be complete by late 2023 or early 2024.
“We are incorporating all of the latest technology into this plant,” Tentinger said. “We will have age and source verification from the ranch to the plate.”
He says they’re still trying to determine if they will sell direct to consumers or online.
“We have a lot of demand for this high-quality beef that we’ll be putting through this plant and with that demand, we’re exploring all options,” Tentinger said. “It will be domestic and international. We anticipate a lot of restaurant groups. Cattlemen’s Heritage will be an umbrella that will set the gold standard of quality for meat.”
