What do you do if you get fed up with the four major meat packing plants in Nebraska? A group of ranchers felt they had the answer and took on a lofty plan in 2021 to build their own plant. 

They were able to raise $325 million, and in October 2022, the groundbreaking celebrating took place in North Platte, Nebraska. 

In explaining this co-op model, CEO David Briggs indicated that as producers, they are doing something together that they can’t do by themselves, and will share profits back to the producers. 

By October 2023, much work was underway. Hundreds of precast panels were in place. 50,000 semi loads of dirt had been moved to build the site up 13 feet and driven pilings down 40 feet. 

Schmeeckle Construction of Colorado is the general contractor who, according to Lukas Schmeeckle, 80 percent of the contractors they work with are from Nebraska, and they have built plants all over the country. He bragged that every plant is a little better than the last. 

Schmeeckle indicated that this should open as the best plant in the country. 

Tour groups will be able to see how beef is produced, thanks to transparency built into the walls. 

Much of the investments are going into the walls on North Platte’s southeast side. 

“Half the cost of the project is equipment inside the plant, we’ll see rapid growth as the walls go up,” Briggs said. 

Senator Deb Fischer could not be more thrilled, although she had misgivings when Briggs approached her with the idea. 

“I thought he’s kind of crazy to be honest with you but wow, what a huge investment for the state, for this area and it’s going to bring lots and lots of opportunity,” Fischer told NTV Reporter, Steve White, in an October 2023 interview. 

“The livestock industry in Nebraska is the economic engine,” said Fischer. 

They are planning to hire 800 employees that will process 1,500 head of cattle a day and ship beef to Walmart stores across the country.  This will bring dollars back to the heart of the beef state. 

The ranchers looked no farther than Lincoln County to build the meat packing plant, and they were welcomed immediately. It is in the middle of the Sandhills where some of the best cattle are raised. The plant will buy all its cattle from feeders within 250 miles. 

A mild winter has enabled the project’s completion date of the summer of 2025 to be almost a certainty. 

Calves that were born this spring will be the first to be processed at the plant when it opens. 

Mary McDonald 

Freelance Reporter