‘We are going to feed American beef to the Americans’: Meat packing plant to open in Richfield
Feb 23, 2024, 7:30 AM
RICHFIELD, Utah — A new cattle processing plant in central Utah is expected to improve the state’s food supply chain.
“You bet I feel pressure,” Henry Barlow said. “I don’t sleep well, but it’s okay.”
Barlow is the owner of Utah Beef Producers, and his new meat packing plant based in Richfield is opening up in March, just in time as the cattle industry could use more processing plants.
Henry Barlow’s Utah Beef Producers plant will open next month. (Mark Wetzel, KSL TV)
“We are going to bring cattle in from the west, and we are going to harvest them, and we are going to feed American beef to the Americans,” Barlow said.
During the COVID pandemic, meat shortages began to happen, not because of the lack of cattle, but because of the lack of packing plants. Many of the plants closed during the pandemic.
Barlow said it opened his eyes and knew something needed to be done to help the food supply chain.
“Just a couple of years ago, ranchers couldn’t get in. People couldn’t buy good beef,” he said. “Not only is it scary for the consumer, but can you imagine being a rancher and having a 100 heads that you can’t get harvested somewhere? They are right fed out, and you have got to feed them another five or six months. I mean, those things impact those guys big time.”
Find the rest of the story at KSLTV.com
