Excel Corporation and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association have set back their October deadline for finding a site for a new multi-million dollar beef processing plant. Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Joel Brinkmeyer says that the search group which also includes the Iowa Department of Economic Development wants to talk more with the communities about the project. Economic development groups have wanted to tour plants and have meetings with Excel executives, but Brinkmeyer says the Cattlemen’s Association and Excel think it’s too soon to start doing that. Brinkmeyer says the current condition in the beef industry and projected difficulties in the processor sector for the near future also factor into the decision to push back the deadline. Mason City, Worth County, and Ottumwa are among those that have shown some interest in the project. Residents in Des Moines, Cambridge, and Iowa Falls have already shunned the plant.
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