Public invited to beef-processing plant meeting

The developers of a proposed beef-processing facility in northern Mills County will host an informational meeting in Creston for potential investors from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10 at the Quality Inn, 900 S. Sumner Ave. The meeting is open to the public.

Area cattle producers, farmers and agri-business owners are encouraged to attend. Other area meetings include 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at the Mount Ayr Golf and Country Club; 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Hotel Greenfield and from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Cobblestone Inn and Suites in Winterset.

Cattlemen’s Heritage is scheduled to break ground on a 1,500-head-per day, state-of-the-art beef processing facility in April. The plant, which will employ approximately 750 workers, is expected to open in late 2023.

“Cattlemen’s Heritage will fill a critical gap between the conglomerates and the outdated, under-sized lockers and plants that aren’t equipped to meet the needs of consumers, producers or retailers,” said project developer Chad Tentinger, founder and owner of TenCorp. Inc., a cattle industry construction firm with offices in Des Moines and Marcus.

Tentinger noted recent market conditions – including several years of weak cattle markets, strong retail prices and the increased amount of investment capital on the sidelines during the pandemic – are other reasons to move forward to the facility’s construction to expand processing capacity in the state.

“Cattle producers and retailers have recognized for quite some time that as more cattle production has moved north to the Upper Midwest that we need the processing capacity to match it,” Tentinger said. “The Cattlemen’s Heritage facility will go a long way to resolving that ongoing challenge and delivering more quality beef from family farms to consumers.