Trey Wasserburger, Sustainable Beef LLC co-organizer and owner of TD Angus, spoke on Jan. 25 to the Grand Island Noon Rotary on the progress of the North Platte, NE, beef processing facility.
Wasserburger reported that David Briggs, Sustainable Beef CEO, met with Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), who proposed $15 million for the facility with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act in the state’s 2022-23 budget. Wasserburger said further state funding is being pursued. “There’s also a bill going in front of the Legislature for maybe a little more to cover escalating prices,” Wasserburger said. The project’s cost has increased from $225 million to $325 million in a year.
Another concern for the project is labor, with Wasserburger telling those at the meeting starting wages for the facility will be $50,000 plus benefits, “and there will be 75 upper management jobs that pay over $75,000.”
Wasserburger pointed out that “sustainable” does not refer to environmental impact, but to the economic sustainability it will offer the company’s families. “We’re not saying we’re trying to interpret and form what ‘sustainability’ is; we already are. We’ve been doing this for 100 years,” he said. “Sustainability is what my family’s been doing for 100 years, and I want to do it for 100 more.”
