Tyson Will Bring Back Amarillo’s Second Beef Shift by Summer 2027 in Planned Partnership With Rancher Group Allied Beef

Tyson Foods is betting on a closer tie with cattle producers to fill its Texas Panhandle plant again. The meatpacker said Monday it intends to team up for the long haul with Allied Beef Company, a group of American ranchers, and is moving ahead with plans to bring back the second production shift at its Amarillo beef facility.

Tyson said it has already restored select second-shift operations at Amarillo and expects the full shift to be operating by summer 2027. The company said the reopening will raise production and add a significant number of jobs, but it did not give an estimate, according to ABC 7 Amarillo (KVII).

Why it matters to cattle producers

Tyson has closed or trimmed beef plants this year as cattle supplies tightened. More hooks running in the Southern Plains means more bidding for fed cattle there, at least once the second shift is fully staffed. A direct supply arrangement with ranchers could also change how some cattle are marketed, though neither company has said how cattle would be priced or committed.

Tyson Chief Operating Officer Wes Morris said in the company’s release that “the future of our beef business depends on strong partnerships across the supply chain.” Allied Beef said the partnership offers a chance to build long-term value for ranchers and stronger connections in the cattle supply chain, according to the release.

Allied Beef’s members are ranchers and feeders based in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and elsewhere, Pro Farmer reported, citing Reuters. Tyson described the deal as a statement of intent; a final agreement had not been announced.

How Amarillo got here

• January 2026: Tyson cut Amarillo to a single full-capacity shift, laying off 1,761 workers and citing historically low cattle supplies, ABC 7 Amarillo reported. Food Processing magazine reported the second-shift shutdown had been announced in November 2025, alongside the closing of Tyson’s Lexington, Neb., beef plant.
• August 2026: Tyson said it would close beef plants in Illinois and Utah, look for a buyer for its Washington plant, and center beef production on Amarillo, Dakota City, Neb., and Holcomb, Kan. It said then that it planned to restart an Amarillo second shift as cattle became available, according to ABC 7 Amarillo.
• Nov. 9, 2026: The Allied Beef partnership plan and the timeline for a full second shift.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller welcomed the news, saying in a statement reported by KFDA NewsChannel 10 that restoring the shift “means more Texas jobs, more American beef processing capacity.”

Markets and the bigger picture

Cattle futures rebounded Monday along with the stock market, Pro Farmer said. December live cattle settled at $216.20, up $2.15, and January feeder cattle at $324.17, up $5.80, according to Brownfield Ag News. That followed a rough prior week for feeders; see our week-ahead market story.

Elsewhere in meatpacking, JBS said its U.S. beef unit narrowed its adjusted loss to $2 million from $42 million a year earlier, Pro Farmer reported, citing Bloomberg. Herd health remains a risk for the cattle supply that Tyson is counting on; see our latest on New World screwworm cases.

What to watch

• Terms of the Tyson-Allied Beef agreement, including how cattle are priced and how many head are involved.
• Hiring announcements at Amarillo as the second shift ramps toward summer 2027.
• Weekly slaughter and cash fed cattle trade in the Texas-Oklahoma-New Mexico region as capacity returns.