Rural towns facing meat plant closures struggle to find a new path forward

Noel officials hope that recreation options can fill some
economic losses. (Photo by Harlan Bozeman,WSJ)

Over the next few months, six rural counties will face Tyson chicken plant closures, with residents, small-business owners and county officials facing tough choices," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. Tyson is one of many companies shrinking its operations. "Meat processors are closing plants across the country in response to what they say is slackening consumer demand and persistently high costs for livestock, feed and wages."

The Tyson plant in Noel, Missouri, pop. 2,220, will close this month. While many employees have already quit and left town, small-business owners like Angel Saldivar are also considering leaving. "Saldivar​ wasn't among the 1,500 Tyson workers affected by the plant's shutdown," Thomas writes. "He and his family run a restaurant across the street, Tony's Burritos, which his grandmother opened in the 1990s as a lunch spot for plant employees. With the plant scheduled to close by mid-October, Saldivar says Tony's probably will, too. . . . Tony's sales have fallen 40% to 50% from August."

Noel is one of several towns facing plant closure fallouts. "Poultry company Perdue Farms said in August it was closing a meat plant in Michigan that employs 130 people, and pork giant Smithfield Foods closed a 1,800-person California facility this year," Thomas explains. "The closures spell economic turbulence for towns such as Noel, where meatpacking plants are major employers, customers of local farmers and truckers, and cornerstones of the tax base."

It can take years for a rural town's economy to rebound from a plant closure, and some do not recover. "In Plainview, Texas, agriculture giant Cargill a decade ago closed a beef plant, the town's largest employer with more than 2,000 workers," Thomas reports. "Charles Starnes, Plainview's mayor, said restaurants and other businesses around the plant laid off staff or closed completely, leading to about 3,000 total jobs lost in Plainview. The city's population has declined by about 2,000 people since the year the plant closed, he said."

In some areas, a plant's closure could open the door for new opportunities. Thomas writes, "For Noel, local officials said that without the plant's noxious smells, the city's location on the Elk River in southwest Missouri could make it a more popular tourist destination and attract outdoor activities such as kayaking. Lance said the site could attract a new hotel or a casino."