Plans are moving forward for a new producer owned beef packing plant in South Dakota. Kim Ulmer, owner of Huron Continental Marketing in Huron says the small facility is already built and would process beef through a program called U.S. Certified COOL, to be sold directly to consumers.
Ulmer says this would be the first in a series of smaller beef processing plants in the state owned by cattle producers. The concept would similar to the South Dakota Certified Beef Program but instead of $100 million plants, the facilities would cost around $1 million.
He says the goal is to take out the middlemen and pass more of the profit down to the producer.
South Dakota cattle groups will help with the protocol for the program. An investor meeting is planned at Huron Continental Marketing November 12 at 3:00 pm.
