Rancher Commits to Build Nation’s Largest Beef Plant

Megan Kingsbury, a fifth-generation cattle rancher, plans to build the country’s largest beef plant in South Dakota. Founder and CEO of capital firm Kingsbury & Associates and the managing partner of Sirius Realty, Kingsbury will fund the beef plant via both companies. The $1.1 billion plant, capable of processing 8,000 head of cattle a day, will provide competition for the four major players — Cargill, Tyson, JBS, and National Beef Packing Company — that currently process 85 percent of all US-fed cattle. Construction on the new plant is expected to commence in 2023 with completion anticipated as early as 2026. Kingsbury projects that her plant will weather issues in the beef industry, including pandemic shutdowns and worsening drought that reduced cattle numbers. She plans to hire 2,500 employees and use advanced technology to reduce the labor involved in processing beef.