Cargill Inc. is closing its Milwaukee slaughterhouse at 1915 W. Canal St., leading to the elimination of nearly 600 jobs almost immediately. Credit: Michael Sears

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Cargill Inc. is closing its beef cattle slaughterhouse in Milwaukee, resulting in the loss of about 600 jobs almost immediately, and signaling continued difficulties for meat processors.

Years of drought have reshaped the U.S. beef industry, with cattle feedlots and meatpacking plants closing because there aren't enough livestock to support them.

Plant operators say they don't expect a recovery anytime soon, as it will take years to rebuild herds that were drawn down by an extended drought in cattle-producing states and high animal feed prices.

"Basically there is a shortage of cattle, so we cannot harvest cattle that don't exist," said Mike Martin, spokesman for Minnetonka, Minn.-based Cargill, one of the nation's largest beef processors.

The closing will result in the loss of 542 hourly and 46 salaried jobs at the plant located at 1915 W. Canal St.

Another 200 employees, at an adjacent plant that processes ground beef, will not be affected by the closing, according to Cargill, as that plant will be supplied with meat from other slaughter locations. A ground beef plant that the company owns in Butler also will not be affected, the company said.

The employees losing their jobs will receive an additional 60 days pay, Cargill said, and some of them could be offered positions at other Cargill plants in the region. Also, the company is sponsoring a job fair next week to help the people losing their jobs connect with other employers.

Some of the losses began Wednesday, according to a company notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

"Closing our Milwaukee beef plant is taking place only after we conducted an 18-month-long analysis of the region's cattle supply and examined all other possible options," John Keating, president of Cargill Beef, based in Wichita, Kan., said in a statement.

"It is unfortunate that we must close any beef plant because of the impact to good people, their families and the community. The harsh reality is that the U.S. beef cattle herd is at its lowest level since 1951, with any significant herd expansion being years away."

Early last year, Cargill closed a much larger beef processing plant in Plainview, Texas, that employed about 2,000 people.

The Milwaukee plant is one of the company's smaller operations, processing about 1,400 cattle a day compared with 6,000 a day at the company's Dodge City, Kan., plant.

The company is keeping its six beef plants open in California, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Pennsylvania.

"Regrettably, the Milwaukee plant's closing is not really a surprise. Certain plants are just not sustainable," said Steve Kay, editor and publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly, a newsletter for the industry.

Cargill acquired the Milwaukee operations in 2001 from Emmpak Foods Inc. The company says it hasn't yet decided what it will do with the property located in the Menomonee Valley.

Right now, company and city officials say their priority is helping the dislocated workers.

The job fair could include Cargill's competitors to see if they can hire some of them, said Mayor Tom Barrett.

The mayor said he's not as worried about the fate of the property. "We are very bullish on the valley. It has done incredibly well and has attracted a lot of quality employers," he said.

Wisconsin ranks 11th among states in the number of cattle, including dairy cows.

With the plant's closing, Milwaukee is losing a long-standing connection to the state's agriculture industry.

There are other beef processing plants, including two large ones in Green Bay, but the loss of the Milwaukee facility isn't good for the industry, said John Frietag, executive director of the Wisconsin Beef Council.

"Any time you eliminate a buyer for cattle, and reduce the competition, it's not good," added John Harrington, chief livestock analyst with DTN/The Progressive Farmer, an agriculture information service based in Omaha, Neb.

The packing industry here has its roots in the humble butcher shops of pioneer Milwaukee. As the supply of Wisconsin livestock swelled beyond the needs of the young city, some of the more enterprising butchers began to pack meat for a larger market, according to historian John Gurda.

Led by such legendary figures as John Plankinton, Frederick Layton, Philip Armour and Patrick Cudahy, Milwaukee became America's fourth-largest packing center in 1871, trailing only Chicago, Cincinnati and St. Louis. In 1879, packing was the city's most important industry, generating more revenue than breweries.

Hogs ruled the market well into the 20th century. More than 500,000 met their fate in the busiest years, most ending up as hams, bacon and salt pork. A host of ancillary industries used "everything but the squeal," turning out sausage, lard, fertilizer, paint brushes and even mattress stuffing, Gurda wrote.