Cargill completes sale of Texas feed yard
Twenty jobs have been saved at the 60,000-capacity cattle yard, whose closure is related to the shutdown of Cargill’s beef processing plant in Plainview, Texas, in February 2013.
Drought, which severely limited the region’s cattle supplies, in an area where four major beef producing facilities were located, contributed to the closure of the Plainview plant.
"With a large feed yard at Bovina, Texas, in close proximity to Cargill’s Friona, Texas beef processing plant, and a constrained cattle supply throughout the Panhandle region, Lockney was deemed surplus," read a statement by Cargill.
Lofton Trust, a family-owned cattle operation based in California, acquired the yard as part of its expanding operations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Todd Allen, president of Cargill Cattle Feeders, said: "This is a win for Lockney, its employees, the Texas beef business, Cargill and Lofton Trust.
"We were dismayed about the prospect of Lockney closing in the wake of the Plainview beef plant shutting down, so being able to keep the feed yard viable is a wonderful feeling. We are confident the Lofton Trust will work hard to maintain its ongoing success."
The yard will operate under Western Cattle Feeders.
