Tyson shutters Illinois beef facility

JOSLIN, Ill. — Tyson Foods announced the closure of three beef processing facilities, including the 3,000-head-per-day slaughtering plant in Joslin in northwestern Illinois.

It also announced the closure of its case-ready facility in Eagle Mountain in north-central Utah and the sale of its 2,000-head-per-day slaughtering plant in Pasco in south-central Washington.

“Tyson Foods is making strategic changes to its beef operations to position the company for long-term success,” a company statement said.

The processor will anchor its beef business around three strategically located facilities in the central United States — Dakota City in northeastern Nebraska, Holcomb in southwestern Kansas, and Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle — to create “a more competitive footprint amidst one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced.”

“Recent USDA cattle inventory data, which included continued evidence of limited heifer retention, indicates these supply constraints are likely to persist, requiring strategic action,” the company said.

Tyson said capacity from the Joslin and Eagle Mountain locations will be moved “to more strategically located facilities with ample capacity to grow.”

With these changes, the company will ramp back up a second shift at its Amarillo facility as cattle become available.

“Collectively, these changes will allow the company to maintain a similar level of cattle harvesting across a more efficient and modern network,” Tyson said.

‘Troubling’

“NCBA is troubled by the closure of the Joslin beef processing facility. For many years, the plant has played a vital role in the Midwest beef supply chain, and its closure will significantly impact cattle producers, employees and rural communities across the region,” said Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO.

“We encourage Tyson to work closely with its longstanding customers to identify alternative marketing opportunities for their cattle.

“These decisions underscore the significant challenges that historically low cattle inventories continue to create across the beef cattle industry. While we are disappointed by these developments, they also reinforce the importance of rebuilding the nation’s cow herd and maintaining adequate processing capacity to support cattle producers, strengthen market opportunities and ensure a resilient beef supply chain for the future.”

Illinois Beef Association Executive Vice President Josh St. Peters echoed NCBA’s concerns regarding the closure of the beef processing plant in Joslin.

“The Illinois Beef Association is deeply disappointed by Tyson Foods’ sudden decision to close its processing facility in Joslin. For decades, the Rock Island County plant has served as a critical market for family farmers and has been an important economic driver for rural Illinois,” St. Peters said.

“This abrupt closure creates significant challenges for hundreds of producers who relied on the plant to market cattle, while also impacting 2,500 employees, countless local businesses and the broader regional economy.

“While Illinois beef producers look to invest in their operations and play a role in rebuilding the nation’s cow herd, the loss of this major processing facility in our state creates additional uncertainty by reducing market access and increasing transportation and marketing costs. Our association is here to work closely with affected producers and industry partners to identify alternative marketing opportunities and explore any options that could keep the facility operating.

“This announcement underscores the importance of maintaining a strong and competitive beef sector. Adequate processing capacity is critical to ensuring reliable market access for Illinois’ farm families and strengthening the long-term resilience of the beef supply chain.”

Consolidation Trend

R-CALF USA noted in a statement that within less than a year the nation’s three largest beef packers have radically reshaped the structure of America’s beef and cattle industries by eliminating strategic marketing outlets for cattle, geographically centralizing their diminished beef production operations and increasing America’s dependency on foreign beef production.

“The announcement marks the continued unfolding of the concentrated beef packers’ plans,” R-CALF USA said. “Tyson Foods initiated the structural reshaping of America’s cattle and beef industries when it closed its Lexington, Nebraska, beef facility — a 5,000-head-per-day slaughtering plant — in January.

“Tyson Foods’ lead was soon followed by JBS USA’s announcement to close its Souderton, Pennsylvania, beef facility — a 2,000-head-per-day slaughtering plant, which was scheduled to cease slaughtering operations Aug. 14.

“In May, Cargill Meat Solutions locked workers out of its Fort Morgan beef facility (in Colorado) — a 4,000-head-per-day slaughtering plant over a labor dispute. Recent reports indicate the plant remains closed today.

“The Big Three beef packers have effectively and drastically reduced the nation’s slaughter capacity since 2025 by an estimated 14,000 to 16,000 head per day, representing about 18% to 20% of daily fed cattle slaughter in 2025.”

“We believe this is a situation where the Big Three beef packers have themselves contributed to our nation’s reduced cow herd and contracted cattle industry, and they are now using that outcome to rationalize their plant closures, which reshape the structure of America’s cattle and beef industries to maximize their profits at the expense of cattle farmers and ranchers and consumers,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

“Cattle farmers and ranchers are harmed by the loss of economical marketing outlets, increased transportation costs and reduced buying competition in the areas affected by the plant closures.

“Consumers are likewise harmed by the additional costs associated with transporting both cattle and beef longer distances, costs likely to be passed on to consumers. In addition, the geographic centralization of the Big Three beef packers will further increase their buying power while making America’s food supply more vulnerable to weather, climate, disease and geopolitical shocks.”

Symptom Of System

According to R-CALF USA President Dave Hyde, an eastern Ohio cattle producer, “this is a symptom of a system the dominant meatpackers helped create and have defended for decades, one that has allowed them to become increasingly reliant on imported beef and less reliant on American cattle.”

“Their global supply chains allow them to source beef from around the world rather than depend on a strong, growing domestic cattle industry,” Hyde said.

“The cumulative effect is an industry being reshaped to become less dependent on American cattle and more capable of relying on foreign beef to fill domestic supply needs. This further disincentivizes the expansion of the domestic cattle herd at precisely the time our nation should be rebuilding it.

“We need to rebuild the conditions that allow producers to remain in business and expand their herds, including by implementing tariffs or other import controls to limit the volume of imported beef and cattle and restoring mandatory country-of-origin labeling so consumers can identify and support beef born, raised and harvested in the U.S. and drive demand for American cattle.

“Our federal antitrust enforcers and Packers and Stockyards enforcers must intervene to prevent the alarming reduction in competition that is occurring and will continue to occur due to these actions by the dominant beef packers.

“Our nation’s food security should be built on a strong domestic cattle industry and a competitive marketplace, not on the global sourcing decisions of a handful of multinational corporations.”