Cattlemen hold meeting on new packing plant

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association holds a meeting today in Ames for those interested in investing in a new I-C-A-owned beef packing plant. I-C-A president Jim Pellett of Atlantic says the plant is the culmination of seven years of work to bring the facility to the state.The facility will be located in Tama, where the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association has purchased the former Tama Beef Packing Plant. Pellett says the I-C-A is renovating the plant and bringing it up to code so it will exceed current food safety standards. Pellett says when it opens, the facility will give Iowa beef producers a place in the state to have their cattle processed. He says they’ve been working on this since the Monfort plant closed in Des Moines in 1995. Today’s meeting is open to anyone interested in investing in the plant, but Pellett says they’re targeting I-C-A members. The meeting starts at one P-M at the Scheman Auditorium in Ames.