State offers Tyson plant $540,000 incentive

Tyson foods in Columbus Junction will receive $537,337 in tax credits over the next several years, part of a deal with the Iowa Economic Development Authority to add jobs at the facility and install carbon dioxide stunning equipment.

“Instead of using electricity to stun the animals before meat production, they would use CO2 to knock out the animals,” Louisa County Development Group Executive Director Cole Smith said. “It is more humane, and it results in better quality meat.”

Smith said the half-million-dollar incentive, which comes with the condition that the plant hires at least 10 new workers, was a big deal not just for the community, but for the broader regional supply chain.

“It means better quality jobs for our residents, not just in Columbus Junction but in the entire area,” he said. “This is something that increases the production, so there’s higher need for more pigs. That’s good for our farmers. This is an expansion, so it increases the property tax space, that means more tax dollars, and it creates more opportunities for the future.”

The incentive payment breaks down into two parts. Around $306,000 paid over five years will help reimburse the plant’s 10 new employees, at least eight of whom will make $19.65 per hour, according to an IEDA meeting packet. The other $231,000 is a refund of taxes paid during the construction process, according to the same document.

The document said the upgrade to the plant would cost $15.4 million. An IEDA representative said the construction was projected to finish in July, 2022.

Representatives from Tyson Foods did not respond immediately to requests for comment on whether the construction will disrupt production or when the additional employees will be hired.