Amarillo City Council Approves Incentives for New Producer-Owned Packing Plant

The Amarillo, TX, City Council has unanimously approved incentives for Producer Owned Beef, LLC, to build a new beef packing facility near the city.

The Amarillo Globe-News reported Friday that Producer Owned Beef has identified 1,108 acres near I-40 as the site for the facility, which the operators expect to be operational by 2025.

While the Amarillo site has not been chosen yet by Producer Owned Beef, Kevin Carter, the CEO of Amarillo’s Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) said the packing facility would create an estimated $650 million in estimated capital improvements and employ 1,600 workers with an estimated $75 million annual payroll. Carter said the project could bring $7 billion in economic impact over 20 years to Amarillo if chosen.

Carter said the company was established to address increasing beef packer margins and fix the imbalance of fed cattle production and harvesting capability, according to the Globe-News report. The company will create more capacity for beef harvesting, creating a stronger link for ranchers and consumers. Due to the central location of Amarillo to its expansive number of cattle producers in the region, Amarillo is looked upon as a favorable location for the company.

The City Council approved unanimously three agenda items to incentivize Producer Owned Beef, LLC to bring its new operation to Amarillo.

Location Incentive Agreement between the Amarillo EDC and Producer Owned Beef, LLC:

• Under the agreement, the Amarillo EDC would provide Producer Owned Beef $8 million for the creation of jobs to be paid out over five years as they are created.
• The Amarillo EDC would also convey 610 acres, valued at more than $3.1 million, to Producer Owned Beef.

Tax Abatement Agreement between the city of Amarillo, the Amarillo EDC and Producer Owned Beef, LLC:

• The agreement would provide for an abatement of future taxes on the construction and equipment costs at 100% abatement for 10 years on $650 million estimated costs of improvements.

Chapter 380 Economic Development Program Agreement between the city of Amarillo and Producer Owned Beef, LLC:

• The city agrees to design and construct a water main extension and associated meter at an approximate cost of $3.45 million.
• The city agrees to participate in an amount not to exceed $120,000 toward a sanitary sewer extension.
• There will be a one-time permit fee amount of $1,290,000 for plan reviews and building permits.
• There will be a water rate structure agreement for the same rate as the fed cattle beef production facility, located northeast of the Rick Husband International Airport.