Sustainable Beef Targets Summer 2025 Plant Opening, Hires General Manager

March 20, 2024

Beef-processing plant veteran Ryan Wagnon will lead the new $400 million facility, which is being built in partnership with Walmart in North Platte, Neb.

Andy Hanacek

Sustainable Beef LLC announced in a release published in the North Platte Post that it has hired the general manager for the facility and also gave a progress report on the facility’s expected open date.

The company, which was formed in 2020 by a group of cattlemen and investors, has hired Ryan Wagnon to be general manager of the $400 million processing plant it is building in North Platte, Neb. Walmart purchased a minority stake in the company in September 2022. Wagnon brings 22 years of beef-processing plant experience to the role.

In addition, Sustainable Beef reported that it expects to open the facility in summer 2025, and will hire other senior management in accounting, human resources, maintenance, operations, purchasing and safety this year. Line workers are expected to be hired in 2025.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.