Cargill announced this morning that the beef operations in Plainview will discontinue because of the impact of the drought on the cattle numbers.
This is a devestating blow to the local economy!

The writting on the wall has been there for several years. This is the beginning of the end for Plainview and many of the smaller towns out there. I pray for the families there and hope they can find employment else where. However I doubt they will be able to sell their homes.

Sad to see this. But, like you said, a two year drought has had an adverse affect on the whole agriculture industry.

NM, sent a PM.

[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 1/21/2013 2:29p).]

Wow, very sad to hear.

What about the Friona plant - any plans for it that you know of? That would affect my hometown of Clovis NM, as many of their workers commute from here.

Dandy, I haven't heard anything from my folks about the Friona plant closing. I'll check with them again.

Heard on the radio that they are offering some of the Plainview workers jobs at Friona. So I would assume Friona is staying open.

Friona plant is not closing. Kills at Plainview will to Friona. Kills at the Friona plant will go to Dodge City and Ft. Morgan.

Company I work for has some dealings with the cargill packing plants in the area. I heard yesterday they are keeping the maintanance guys on staff with the expectation of starting the plant back up in 6-9 months.

I find that hard to believe. Most estimates I see say a minimum of five years, if ever. At least one Plainview elementary school is asking teachers to take early retirement and plans are to shut that campus down.

I can't imagine they'd disrupt the lives of thousands of people just to turn around in six months and say "never mind".

Drove by it yesterday, and there's still water being pumped in the ponds, bunch of trucks parked in the lot and steam coming out of the vents. So they're still doing something out there.

Don't overestimate how much a packing plant cares about their employees. I know of one plant that has 60% turnover per year and they don't really care. I doubt that kind of attitude varies much from one plant to the next.

[This message has been edited by csp97 (edited 2/13/2013 10:17a).]

My husband was one of the unlucky ones who lost his job at Cargill last month. He's looking to find something in the local area, as we really have come to love Plainview, our friends here and our church, but we may not have a choice but to move. Thankfully I have a job, but it won't cut it financially long term.

Lots of rumors out there about the plant reopening, but he's not so sure. It's just a sad thing all around...

WockaWocka00,

What is it that your husband is looking to do? I am currently hiring for 2 positions in Lubbock and 1 position in Amarillo.

Here's an article about the closing in the New York Times, in case anyone's interested ...