Dive Brief:
- Cargill said it will invest close to $90 million in computer vision and other cutting-edge technologies over the next few years at a Colorado beef plant, which will allow the food giant to get more meat out of each animal.
- The company plans to implement a proprietary automated solution called CarVe at its plant in Fort Morgan. The technology uses computer vision to measure red meat yield in real time, helping employees improve cutting techniques and reduce waste.
- The technology allows Cargill to preserve more meat at a time when cattle supply is at its lowest point in decades. Cargill has invested nearly $24 million in tech upgrades at the Fort Morgan facility since 2021.
Dive Insight:
Cargill has looked to automate some of its processes to improve production efficiencies and make operations safer for employees. The company has implemented more than 100 projects across 35 facilities in North America as part of its Factory of the Future initiative.
The latest project at Fort Morgan is designed to improve the meat-cutting process by allowing for real-time production insights. Frontline managers can use the technology to instantly share feedback with employees, improving processes that can boost meat production per cow.
“Now, we’re making decisions in the moment and saving product that would’ve been lost,” Jarrod Gillig, senior vice president of Cargill’s North American Beef business, said in a statement. “By applying smart technology to the problem, we’re getting more meat from every animal, reducing waste, and making protein production more efficient and sustainable from start to finish.”
As the U.S. grapples with a significant cattle shortage, meat producers have invested to expand processing capabilities as a way to increase production. Even a 1% yield improvement can save hundreds of millions of pounds of meat, Cargill said in a statement.
Cattle prices are expected to reach new highs in 2026 as ranchers struggle to rebuild herds from years of drought and high input costs. U.S. beef production is expected to decline in 2026 by 5% year over year, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Cargill competitor JBS, the world's largest meat producer, said in February that it would spend $200 million to expand U.S. beef production as it prepares for supply to eventually rebound.
In addition to the technology upgrades at the Fort Morgan plant, Cargill is investing to address labor constraints by backing a $40 million development project for employee housing.
