PLATTE COUNTY — If you drive through just about any portion of Platte County, it doesn’t take long to figure out that ranching and beef production are a big and important part of the local economy.  Ranches established in the region, some even before Wyoming gained its official status as the Cowboy State in 1890, still help feed people across America.  But ranching and agriculture aren’t the only means for supporting a household.  Other employers of substance include the Missouri Basin Power Plant, the Wyoming Army National Guard Camp and Training Grounds, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, Platte County School Districts 1 and 2, and until recently, the Wyoming Cowboy Challenge program at Camp Guernsey.  But over the past several years, some of those jobs have disappeared due to downsizing and relocation.  Guernsey has been hit especially hard as the railroad pulled or moved nearly 90 positions and another 42 are ending with the indefinite closure of the Cowboy Challenge program.  Across the state, the coal and oil industries have also taken hits in the number of jobs they once offered when coal and oil were booming.   

Enter First American Farms, a South Dakota-based business that is hoping to provide a solution to some of Wyoming’s employment shortages.  Under the name American Premium Beef, the company is in the process of purchasing land about 10 miles west of Guernsey where they plan to build a 387,000 square foot state-of-the-art Kosher beef slaughter and packing facility, the largest in the world.  First American Farms and American Premium Beef were established by Linda King, who literally grew up in the Kosher meat industry, first working in her grandparents’ operation before going on to build an extensive career in the business.  Her experience has taken her all over the world and she is widely known as an expert in the religious slaughter and meat packing industry.  King says although most people her age have opted to spend their retirement years away from a daily work schedule, her drive to run her companies and take on the challenges of a major project isn’t work to her.  “This is my passion.  This is what I learned from the time I was very young and it’s where I want to be.”

King says despite some opposition to the project she encountered at an introductory meeting with the Platte County Commissioners in August, she has also had a substantial amount of support from area beef producers and people who are seeking employment.  King has circulated brochures in the area that give a full explanation of the company’s plans for the project, including information about the requirements that will determine employment eligibility.  King says she believes competitive wages along with benefits will fill some 400 positions they will be offering once the plant is fully operational.  She is adamant that they will hire only full U.S. citizens who must speak fluent English, pass drug and background checks, including social media, to be considered for employment.  They will offer paid training for positions that require it.  The plant will operate on a four-day, 10 hour per day work schedule.    

So why Kosher and why Wyoming?  For those who are not familiar, Kosher is food prepared according to the dietary laws of Judaism (called kashrut) which are based on Old Testament teachings. It involves the way the food is produced, prepared, processed and consumed and generally followed by Orthodox Jewish people.  The word kosher is a Hebrew term which translates to “fit” or “appropriate”.  When dealing specifically with beef, Kosher beef must be raised, slaughtered and processed in a very specific way and includes the presence of a Jewish Rabbi during the process.  “Glatt Kosher” refers to meat from animals with smooth or defect-free lungs.   Star-K is a company that provides certification for kosher products and will be the certifying entity for American Premium Beef.

The standards American Premium Beef must meet with their cattle include:  pristine animal carcasses including absence of lung lesions; lungs must hold air after Rabbinical handling; religiously slaughtered by a Shochet, a religious slaughterman under the supervision of a rabbi;  APB plans to work with NSF Humane Religious Slaughter Audits standards with Star-K certification and Dr. Temple Grandin who is regarded as the world’s authority in humane slaughter practices; and a special diet and wise management practices with good vaccination protocols.   

First American Farms commissioned a study of the religious beef market and found that the highest standards are not being met in the marketplace.  They have also spent five years assessing carcass quality, efficient feeding and humane animal practices.  Findings showed that cattle born in high altitudes such as Wyoming, Montana and Colorado and processed at 18-24 months of age yielded a Glatt Kosher rate of an average over 60 percent rather than the national average of 20-30 percent.  American Premium Beef believes the genetics in those states lead to the absence of brisket disease.  Animals may be finished in feedlots in surrounding states.     

American Premium Beef’s research indicates a proven need for religious certified beef—even the projected processing of 1,500 head per day would not fulfill the demand in just the New York City area.  They currently hold letters of intent for final product purchases that exceed by 10 times the amount they can produce, even when running at full capacity.  All cattle processed in the new facility will meet the rigorous certification standards of Star-K, known world-wide.

They are currently securing letters of intent with ranchers, farmers and feedlots who want to sell their animals.  An eastern Wyoming location will provide producers a competitive edge in having a USDA-approved commercial beef packing facility within a 300-mile radius of their herds, thus reducing transportation costs and cattle that meet the Glatt Kosher protocols will bring an average of an additional $170 over average per animal.

In a phone interview last week, Karen Budd-Falen, attorney for American Premium Beef, said the company expects to close the land purchase sometime in January.  She stated they are also working on a number of other permitting processes including water and traffic.  Some of the concerns expressed by the public at the August commissioners meeting were related to those items.  Budd-Falen said they are working with state geologists and have determined that the wells needed for the plant will be drilled to a depth of nearly a mile and half so as not to disturb wells already established in the area.  She also said that any water agreements currently in force by area landowners would remain and not be changed in any way.  She said they are also working with the U.S. and Wyoming Department of Transportation to address the problems associated with increased traffic once construction and operations begin.  “We’re looking into what can be done to add at least some turning lanes and possibly full traffic lanes to cut down on congestion on U. S. 26.  Plans call for the plant to be built north of U. S. 26 but the exact location has not been released.     

Both King and Budd-Falen said they plan to hold community meetings around the county once more details have been finalized.  Budd-Falen said the meeting with the commissioners in August was not intended to be a question-and-answer session but rather an introduction to let people know about the project in general.  “We want to be able to give specific and accurate information and answer people’s questions, and we’re happy to do that but it will have to be done once we have definitive information to report.”

Watch the Gazette and Record-Times for the next installment as more information becomes available in the weeks to come.