Tyson Foods to close Iowa beef plant that employs 400; cites diminishing cattle herds as reason

Tyson Foods, the largest meat company by sales, announced on Friday that diminishing cattle herds will force it to permanently close its Denison, Iowa, (Best Places map) processing plant that employs 400 workers, Jacob Bunge reports for The Wall Street Journal. "Years of dry conditions in the southern U.S. Plains states forced farmers to reduce their beef herds, leaving meatpackers with fewer animals to process."

Steve Stouffer, president of Tyson’s fresh meats division, said in a statement: “The cattle supply is tight, and there’s an excess of beef production capacity in the region. We believe the move to cease beef operations at Denison will put the rest of our beef business in a better position for future success.”

Grocery store prices for beef remain high "after soaring to historic highs in recent years, which has benefited sales of other meats such as pork and chicken," Bunge writes. "Retail prices for beef products have risen about 10 percent over the past year through June, to $6.11 a pound, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture." (Read more)