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Where have all the packing plants gone? : the new meat geography in rural America

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  • Mark Drabenstott
  • Mark Henry
  • Kristin Mitchell

Abstract

The meat industry is an economic powerhouse for rural America---accounting for roughly one of every 16 rural manufacturing jobs. Moreover, this rural powerhouse is adding jobs at a fast clip, with recent growth of 8.5 percent a year versus just 1.2 percent a year for all rural manufacturing industries. Finally, rural America has captured a commanding 52 percent of all meat industry jobs, far above the level of a decade ago.> While all these figures are welcome news to rural areas eager to expand employment, geographic shifts under way in the industry raise fresh doubts over which rural communities will land new meat plants. Once concentrated in midwestern urban centers like Chicago, the meat industry is now most often found in rural towns and hamlets---and often far from the Midwest. Poultry-processing has moved to the Southeast. Beef packing plants have moved to the Great Plains. And pork packing plants have begun moving out of the Corn Belt to the Southeast and Great Plains, but where they go next is highly uncertain, with the future location of hog production itself very much in question.> What geographic shifts lie ahead for the meat-processing industry? And what do the shifts in this powerhouse industry mean for the future of the rural economy? Drabenstott, Henry, and Mitchell review some critical trends in the meat industry by examining for the first time a special database on the industry, the Longitudinal Research Database (LRD) maintained by the Bureau of the Census. They conclude that the meat industry is likely to concentrate geographically even more in the future, promising a new source of economic growth for some rural communities while leaving many others behind. Yet even in areas where the industry does locate, a sharp drop in industry wages raises new questions about its local economic impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Drabenstott & Mark Henry & Kristin Mitchell, 1999. "Where have all the packing plants gone? : the new meat geography in rural America," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 84(Q III), pages 65-82.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedker:y:1999:i:qiii:p:65-82:n:v.84no.3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sheila A Martin & Richard Mchugh & S R Johnson, 1991. "The Influence Of Location On Productivity: Manufacturing Technology In Rural And Urban Areas," Working Papers 91-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
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    4. Guy Dumais & Glenn Ellison & Edward L. Glaeser, 2002. "Geographic Concentration As A Dynamic Process," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 193-204, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Megan D. Williams, 2007. "The Tenth District's defining industries: changes and opportunities for rural communities," Main Street Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue 5.
    2. William R. Keeton & Geoffrey B. Newton, 2006. "Migration in the Tenth District : long-term trends and current developments," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 91(Q III), pages 33-74.
    3. Boehlje, Michael & Gray, Allan W. & Mark, Tyler B., 2006. "The Growth Potential For The Indiana Livestock Industries," Staff Papers 28633, Purdue University, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    4. Dust, Andrew & Orazem, Peter & Wohlgemuth, Darin, 2008. "Rural Immigrant Population Growth, 1950-2000: Waves or Ripples?," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12920, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    5. Chad R. Wilkerson & Megan D. Williams, 2007. "The Tenth District's defining industries: how are they changing?," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 92(Q III), pages 59-81.
    6. Raper, Kellie Curry & Cheney, Laura Martin & Punjabi, Meeta, 2000. "Assessing The Impact Of A Hog Slaughter Plant Closing: The Thorn Apple Valley Case," Staff Paper Series 11658, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.

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    Keywords

    Rural development; Meat industry and trade;

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