JBS USA: Beef Demand Still Strong, But Diversification Remains Necessary
JBS USA CEO Wesley Batista Filho was among the executives who sat and answered questions during The WSJ Global Food Forum on Tue., June 2, 2026, offering an update on the company’s U.S. operations as well as its worldwide businesses.
Batista introduced himself to the audience as having started working in the Greeley, Colo., plant before being promoted to run one of JBS S.A.’s smaller beef plants in Uruguay when he was 19 years old. He noted that experience taught him about nearly everything at the plant level, as the unit operated independently from other divisions, so he had to learn the business from scratch and manage all aspects of the facility.
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Batista noted that he doesn’t expect protein demand to wane. It’s “more than an obsession and trend,” he said, as consumers today better understand the fundamentals of nutrition and how protein is good for health and longevity. As JBS USA is No. 1 in beef, and No. 2 in both pork and chicken in the U.S., that staying power should benefit the company. For a large chunk of U.S. consumers, beef is a must-have based on the quality of the product produced here, and people are still buying beef due to the top quality of the product available.
He noted that JBS USA actively decided to modernize its Cactus, Texas, beef processing facility now, while the cattle supply is so low, in order to prepare for the cyclical upswing in supply that is bound to happen in the coming years — and the decades of processing ahead of it. Currently, production capacity is available across the industry, but the cattle supply isn’t filling that capacity. The Cactus plant has needed an upgrade for years, but JBS USA didn’t want to sideline the plant during times of higher cattle supply. Cactus will be updated and ready when the cattle supply rebounds.
Meanwhile, JBS has been diversifying its protein portfolio as well, and Batista pointed to the acquisition of a salmon production operation in Australia and the startup of a joint venture to acquire Hickman’s Egg Ranch in Arizona as evidence.
Additionally, Batista addressed the fact that the company continues to build out its packaged meats and prepared foods businesses, reminding the audience that new facility construction was under way in Iowa and Georgia to help that side of the business grow. He noted that JBS is a large player in packaged foods in Brazil, Australia and Mexico, and that the company’s Just Bare chicken brand (part of the Pilgrim’s Pride business) just reached 12-13% share in the U.S. Batista hinted that future acquisitions are possible but would be based on opportunity to grow in these areas.
Interestingly, Batista noted that JBS USA isn’t seeing labor shortages as a primary concern right now — different from past years. It’s not so much the biggest bottleneck anymore for beef and pork packinghouses, he said, noting that he believes higher wages and better benefits packages have made a big difference. Turnover, as well, is down quite a bit, he added.
AI and automation are realities that the industry needs to embrace, though he agrees that automating to process chicken is easier than pork, and that is easier than beef. Batista can see AI helping the industry in food safety matters on the slaughter/harvest floor, where adding value means making more and complex cuts — software that can predict demand and apply that to the complex cuts the company makes has been happening in pork, he said, and will continue to evolve.
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.