A fire has disrupted beef processing at the JBS beef plant in Grand Island, Nebraska.
"As of this time fabrication and slaughter A and B shift will not be working September 13, 2021 we will post updates as soon as possible," the plant's Facebook page said early Monday morning.
In a tweet at 10:03 p.m. Sunday, the Grand Island Fire Department said the rendering roof at the plant was on fire. An update Monday morning said shift change had occurred, with a new shift fighting the fire.
Scene from last night, crews are still on scene. Shift change has happened and fresh crews have filled in. #GIFD pic.twitter.com/D7oOfdpi0t
JBS, a Brazil-based company, is the second largest processor of beef in the U.S., according to its website. The JBS Beef Production Facility in Grand Island is one of nine U.S. beef processing facilities that JBS operates. JBS has reported the Grand Island facility is a two-shift plant that processes 1.4 million cattle per year and employs 3,600 people. The company in June announced the construction of a new harvest floor and enhanced animal welfare facilities at Grand Island. Along with expanding cooler capacity and upgrading the fabrication floor at its Omaha beef production facility, the expansions were anticipated to increase processing capacity by nearly 300,000 head of cattle per year when completed.
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A 2019 fire at a Holcomb, Kansas, beef processing plant caused major market disruptions , and the beef industry continues to seek answers and solutions to such disruptions.