Tyson Foods announced that the Finney County, Kansas, plant, shut down in August due to a fire, will be reopening by the end of January 2020. 

The Aug. 9 fire at the Tyson Foods beef processing plant in Holcomb, Kansas, added unwelcome pressure to an already strained balance between processing capacity and fed cattle supply, and sparked unrest in the cattle markets and concern about beef prices.

Fire officials say one person suffered smoke inhalation in a fire at a meat-packing plant in southwestern Kansas.

The Aug. 9 fire that destroyed portions of the Tyson Foods beef plant in Holcomb, Kansas, left a lingering burn in other portions of the feeder and packing segments. 

Total federally inspected beef production was 12.1 billion pounds in the first 24 weeks of 2019, up just 0.7% from the same period last year. That is an average production of 502.4 million pounds per week – an amazing number if you think about it. Given that there is little storage of beef beyond pipeline supplies, it means that roughly 500 million pounds of a wide range of beef products are moving through a vast array of retail grocery, restaurant, food service and export markets every week. It is an enormous and complex set of markets.