PLEASANT HOPE, MO. — Missouri Prime Beef Packers submitted a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification on Feb. 26 saying that the company would close its plant in Pleasant Hope, Mo., which will affect 335 employees.
The meat producer expects to close on April 26. Missouri Prime Beef Packers said in the notice that the plant's closure may be permanent or temporary.
Earlier in January, Missouri Prime Beef Packers, withdrew a previous request to the Missouri Department. of Natural Resources (DNR) about releasing treated wastewater into the Pomme de Terre River. The wastewater was previously used as fertilizer.
The notice listed the affected department jobs at Missouri Prime Beef Packers including, fabrication, maintenance, harvest, accounting, coolers, quality assurance and warehouse.
STX Beef Co., a subsidiary of real estate development company JDH Capital LLC, purchased Missouri Prime Beef Packers in May 2023.
The facility was processing about 750 cattle daily, five days per week. The 88,000-square-foot plant sits on 256 acres of land around 20 miles north of Springfield.
Missouri Prime Beef Packers did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Several meat processing plants have closed in Missouri over the last year, including two Tyson Foods poultry processing plants in Dexter and Noel. Smithfield Foods also decided to close 35 hog farms in August 2023.