Derrell S. Peel
Oklahoma State University Extension
Beef Producer
Most of the U.S. beef packing infrastructure was built in the 1980s. Cattle inventories in the decade of the 1980s averaged 108.3 million head, 15 percent greater than the 92.1 million head average of the past decade. The industry was characterized by excess capacity for many years as cattle inventories declined. Over many years, capacity slowly exited the industry. In 2000 a ConAgra plant in Garden City, KS burned and was not rebuilt; Tyson closed a plant in Emporia, KS in 2008; and in 2013 Cargill closed a plant in Plainview, TX. The National plant in Brawley, CA closed in 2014 but reopened as One World Beef in 2017.