CURTIS, Neb. — Do the “Big Four” meat packers in the U.S. have a monopoly on the cattle industry?

“If you ask Nebraska producers, the answer is typically yes,” said James Lee.

Lee is a second-year ag business major at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis. He also farms and ranches with his family near Sutherland.

He invites the public to attend a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at NCTA to learn about Sustainable Beef LLC, a producer-initiated company proposing to build a packing plant near North Platte.

Sustainable Beef, LLC intends to provide a new, modern beef processing facility to expand marketing opportunities for cattle producers. The plant could harvest and process 1,500 head of beef animals per day, at a 400-acre site east of North Platte.

Lee has organized the public program at NCTA with one of Sustainable Beef’s initial investors, Trey Wasserburger.

Trey and his wife, Dayna, own TD Angus at Rishel Ranch south of North Platte.

“It’s important we get the information out about who Sustainable Beef is and what they offer to local ranchers,” Lee said. “That’s why I want to host this program at our NCTA campus.”

“I am looking forward to a great turn out of ranchers and community members who want to be educated on what Sustainable Beef and this project will provide for the cattle industry in Nebraska and surrounding states,” Lee said.

The 7 p.m. program will be in the auditorium of the Nebraska Agriculture Industry Education Center. The NCTA Ed Center is located on the east side of campus, and one block north of Highway 23 on University Road.