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Meat Plants: Improving Profitability in Small and Very Small Operations

Summary

Small and very small meat plants in the U.S. typically struggle with extensive overtime costs, high turn-over, high stress, production overcapacity, a declining rural customer base, declining profitability, and an extensive need for capital investment. This publication highlights small changes that have been made at some meat plants to solve common problems and increase profit that don’t require significant capital expenditure. In addition to small, low-capital changes, this publication highlights a basic methodology that meat-plant managers can use to create their own solutions to individual plant problems.