Tyson Foods to shutter 2 facilities amid cattle shortage

Key Points:

• Tyson Foods announced it will close its Joslin, Illinois beef plant and Eagle Mountain, Utah case-ready facility, while seeking to sell its Pasco, Washington beef facility as part of strategic changes to its beef business.
• The company will focus its beef operations around three central U.S. facilities in Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas; and Amarillo, Texas, aiming to create a more competitive footprint amid historic cattle shortages.
• Tyson cited ongoing tight cattle supplies, highlighted by limited heifer retention in USDA data, as a key reason for the restructuring, with capacity from the closing plants shifting to other locations with room to grow.
• The company plans to resume a second shift at its Amarillo plant as cattle availability improves and committed to supporting employees affected by the closures through job placement assistance.
• These changes come amid elevated beef prices and supply challenges driven by drought-related reductions in the U.S. cattle herd, with Tyson’s CEO acknowledging beef performance has been below expectations.