Agri Beef Plans New Idaho Packing Plant

Agri Beef, Boise, ID, announced Friday it plans to open a packing plant in Jerome, ID, that will process 500 head per day. The announcement was made at the Jerome airport and reported by MagicValley.com.

The Jerome plant will operate as True West Beef and employ 400 workers. Agri Beef already operates Washington Beef located in Toppenish, WA, which has a daily harvest capacity of 1,550 head. The company said average workers would make $52,000 per year.

Other brands associated with Agri Beef are Snake River Farms, Double R Ranch, St. Helens Beef and Rancho El Oro. Agri Beef also operates Snake River Farms feedyard at American Falls, ID, Boise Valley Feeders at Parma, ID, and El Oro Cattle Feeders at Moses Lake, WA.

Agri Beef said its new plant will be smaller and flexible in scale and unique in structure, with cattlemen directly involved in equity ownership of the True West facility.

“We evaluated many sites for this venture," Agri Beef Executive Vice President of Business Development Wade Small said in a statement. "With an educated and motivated workforce, access to plentiful agricultural resources, and a vibrant community with a can-do spirit, Jerome and Idaho checked the box for everything we were looking for.”