National Beef Halts Construction On Iowa Premium Expansion

Construction has halted on the expansion project at the Iowa Premium beef plant in Tama, Iowa.

Iowa Premium spokesperson Marcy Johnson told the Des Moines Register that construction has “indefinitely paused,” and that the company will decide whether to resume the project later but will continue to operate its current facility with capacity to harvest 1,300 head of cattle per day.

Rising costs are cited as the reason for the construction pause, and one source suggested to Drovers those costs may be triple what was anticipated when the project began in December, 2021.

Brian Sokol, the mayor of Toledo, Iowa, which joins the city of Tama, told the Tama-Toledo Chamber of Commerce on Thursday that construction could be held back from six months to two years, according to the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle.

“This is a big blow to the community,” Sokol said.

The Iowa Premium plant is owned by National Beef Packing Company, which also operates facilities in Dodge City and Liberal, Kansas, both with daily kill capacities of 6,000-head per day. National Beef is the nation’s fourth-largest beef packer, harvesting roughly 10% to 11% of the daily volume.

"We thank the city, county, and state leadership, our Iowa cattle suppliers, and the Tama community for their enthusiastic support for the project," Johnson said. "We will continue to invest in our employees, our existing Iowa Premium production facility, and this community."      

The Tama plant currently employs 830 workers and the expansion would have added 400 employees.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded Iowa Premium up to $14 million in tax incentives in December. The city of Tama planned to give Iowa Premium a three-year property tax abatement, according to the IEDA.