The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Agricultural Profitability will host a webinar at noon Central time on Dec. 4 examining the market implications of Tyson Foods’ decision to permanently close its beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska.
The hourlong session, “Understanding the Tyson Plant Closure: Market Implications for the Beef Industry,” will be presented by Elliott Dennis, associate professor and livestock and meat economist with the Center for Agricultural Profitability.
Tyson announced on Nov. 21 that it will shut down the Lexington facility, which has processed roughly 5,000 head of cattle per day. The news sent cattle futures limit down and raised immediate concerns for producers in Nebraska and beyond.
The webinar will place the closure in context by comparing it with previous disruptions, including the 2019 Holcomb fire and the 2013 closure in Plainview, Texas, and discuss what recent economic research suggests about price markdowns, capacity constraints and regional bottlenecks. It will also highlight new processing capacity expected to come online and outline the key indicators producers should monitor as they plan marketing decisions in the months ahead.
The webinar is free to attend. Registration is open on the Center for Agricultural Profitability’s website at cap.unl.edu/webinars.
