The CS Beef Packers joint venture near Boise is a 370,000-sq.-ft. facility that is expected to eventually process as many as 1,700 head per day, eliminating the need for local ranches and farms to move their herds hundreds of miles to other packing plants. The new plant also is expected to bring a total of 700 jobs to the area when it reaches full capacity.

The facility originally was expected to open in November of 2016, serving an estimated 600,000 dairy cows and more than 600,000 beef cows in the region, the companies reported in a news release. Amarillo, Texas-based Caviness Beef and Boise, Idaho-based J.R. Simplot both are family-owned and say they plan to use “the latest design and equipment” to ensure the highest food safety and animal care procedures as possible.

This plant is a partnership between Caviness and Simplot and is located just outside of Boise in Kuna, Idaho. They will be focusing on cow kill. Based on analysis from long-time industry analyst, John Nalivka (Sterling Marketing), capacity is 1,700 head per day. As cow plants go, it will be one of the biggest in the country, along with the Caviness plant in Hereford, Texas and the AFG plant in Gibbon, Nebraska which each also have 1,700 head/day capacities. John estimates current cow plant capacity at 22,919 head per day, and thus the Caviness/Simplot plant will add 7% to capacity, bringing it to 24,619 head.

This equates to 6.4 mil head per year. For reference, cow slaughter last year was 5.4 mil head and recently peaked in 2011 at 6.7 mil head (with the drought in Texas and the southwest).

Source: meatingplace