Cattlemen's Heritage Beef Announces Land Acquisition In Northwest Mills County


Architectural rendering of Cattlemen's Heritage Beef's proposed beef processing facility in northwest Mills County.

Nearly 18 months since announcing plans to build to a 2,000-head per day beef processing facility in Mills County, Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company has finalized the purchase of a 132-acre site in northwest Mills County.

The purchase of land northwest of the Highway 370 – Interstate 29 interchange was finalized Dec. 30 for an undisclosed amount. The land is just south of the Mills – Pottawattamie County line.

Plans for the beef processing facility were announced in June 2021. The plant is projected to employ up to 800 employees and provide a tax boost to local taxing agencies.

Mills County elected and economic development officials called the proposed a “win-win” when Cattlemen’s Heritage announced plans for the facility.

“The tax base and the jobs this will bring is a win-win for everyone,” said Mills County Supervisor Lonnie Mayberry.

Cattlemen’s Heritage officials conceded the land acquisition was a lengthy process.

“I’m very appreciative of the cooperation, flexibility, patience and professionalism that the owners, their representatives and officials in Mills County demonstrated throughout this process,” said principal developer Chad Tentinger. “Land purchases for projects of this size often take quite a while to complete and they often have unforeseen challenges, but everyone worked together very well from Day One and through negotiations until final documents were signed.”

Groundbreaking for the facility will take place in 2023, Tentinger said.

“A facility of our size and scale requires a certain level of infrastructure and public utilities. In addition to those requirements, this site checks all the boxes for logistics when it comes to the level of truck traffic for cattle and raw goods coming into the plant and processed goods leaving the facility,” he said. “Its proximity to I-80 is another logistical plus. With the eventual need for up to 800 employees, its location in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan statistical area is another valuable attribute.”

Tentinger noted that the site is zoned for industrial development with emphasis on agribusiness-type operations. Bunge North America operates a soybean processing facility on the opposite side of Interstate 29, just east of the Cattlemen’s Heritage site. An ethanol plant is located nearby.

“Our facility and its state-of-the-art operations fit the neighborhood, but we’ll also be putting our best foot forward in terms of an attractive public-facing design,” Tentinger said.

The company last year selected Gross-Wen Technologies to provide contained treatment at the site. The technology will capture and offset several thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.

“That’s the equivalent of avoiding the use of 242,000 gallons of gasoline every year,” Tentinger said. “The nitrogen and phosphorus that it will recover will be converted into valuable, natural fertilizer for re-use by area farmers as part of our goal to create a carbon-neutral footprint.”

The Opinion-Tribune

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