Darling Ingredients to Expand Nebraska Facility to Handle New Beef Plant Off-Take

Feb. 15, 2023

Darling Ingredients Inc. made the announcement in conjunction with an agreement to purchase the off-take from the new Cattleman’s Heritage Beef Co. beef plant in Mills County, Iowa.

Andy Hanacek

Darling Ingredients Inc. announced its intention to expand the receiving and processing capacity of its Bellevue, Neb., rendering facility today, in conjunction with an agreement to purchase the off-take from the new Cattleman’s Heritage Beef Co., 2,000-head-per-day beef-processing plant in Mills County, Iowa.

According to its Web site, Darling Ingredients facilities process edible byproducts and food waste into sustainable products and also produce renewable energy. The company repurposes approximately 15 percent of the world's meat industry waste streams into value-added products, such as green energy, renewable diesel, collagen, fertilizer, animal proteins and meals and pet food ingredients, the site reports.

Cattlemen's Heritage aims to provide a market for cattle raised by smaller, independent cattle producers. Construction on the $520-million Mills County beef-processing plant is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023, with the goal of starting operations before the end of 2024. The Mills County facility is expected to bring approximately 800 jobs to the area.

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.