08/22/06 Tyson closing Idaho plant

October 16th is the closing date and 270 Treasure Valley workers will out of a job when industry giant Tyson Foods closes its beef slaughter plant in Boise. The Tyson decision means that three packing plants in Idaho will have shut their doors in the past four years. Idaho Cattle Association executive director Lloyd Knight says the loss of capacity to process 500 thousand head of cattle per year puts limits on the state's producers who must now depend on two packing plants in Washington State and one at Hyrum, Utah. KNIGHT "The concern that our members have obviously is the cost of transportation and getting cattle to those plants." Knight says there were probably a number of factors that led to Tyson's decision to close Boise and in other areas. KNIGHT "You know we're going to see an industry that maybe going to at least downsize in the size of each of the individual players. National Beef, the number three packer in the country, they made 27 million in a quarter when Tyson lost 270 million." Is there a chance some other company will come to Idaho and open a packing plant? Knight says they hope that will happen but there are no plans or rumors to that effect. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott