Tyson scraps plans for chicken plant near Kansas town after locals protest

Tonganoxie locals protest the proposed Tyson plant. (Kansas City Star photo)

After local backlash, Tyson Foods announced Sept. 19 that it will likely not build a planned $320 million poultry plant near Tonganoxie, Kansas. "In a letter to the Leavenworth County community on Tuesday, Tyson poultry president Doug Ramsey wrote, 'We’d still like to get to know each other, however, after Monday’s reversal of support by the Leavenworth County commissioners, we will put our plans in your community on hold. We still have interest in Leavenworth County, but will prioritize the other locations in Kansas and other states that have expressed support,'" David Frese and Hunter Woodall report for the Kansas City Star. Tonganoxie is a town of almost 6,000 just west of Kansas City.

Three weeks ago, Tyson announced plans to build the complex, which would have provided 1,600 jobs and processed 1.25 million birds every week. Locals protested the plans, "pointing to Tyson's environmental record and numerous other concerns about what the plant would mean to the community, Todd Neeley reports for The Progressive Farmer.

"As of Wednesday morning, more than a dozen communities in Kansas have contacted the state about having Tyson build the proposed $320 million plant in their area, said Jackie McClaskey, Kansas secretary of agriculture," Frese and Woodall report.