Beef Co-Op Looking
For New Options

MANDAN, N.D. —(AP)— A struggling beef cooperative may be looking for outside investors or scaling back its plans for a processing plant.

Members of Northern Plains Premium Beef will consider such options when they meet in December in Bismarck.

The Mandan-based cooperative had planned two regional processing plants to slaughter 475,000 cattle a year. But it has sold just 117,000 shares at $100 per share, far short of its 250,000-share goal.

Dean Meyer, a Watford City-area rancher who is chairman of the co-op's board, said a recent survey of co-op investors found only about five percent wanted to disband. Most indicated they wanted to keep going in some form, perhaps with help from an outside investor.

"I'm optimistic that there's support out there," Meyer said last week.

The next step is to present all the options, and their costs, to a co-op member meeting Dec. 3-4, Meyer said.

"It's hard to go back to producers and ask for money. But they want us to keep going forward," he said.

"At some time, there's going to have to be a financial commitment for us to keep doing anything. Hopefully, what we can do in December is present a budget and show them what it would cost."

Investors were asked to consider four options in a survey taken earlier this month. They included launching another equity drive under the same terms as the previous one; bringing in an outside investor and reducing the per-share cost to $50; leasing an existing plant instead of building one; and marketing live cattle as a group with equity shares of $10 to $20.