Lincoln South Rotary Club Member Jessica Kolterman was our speaker on December 1. We heard about Lincoln Premium Poultry - Costco’s poultry processing plant, hatchery, and feed mill facility.
Jessica, with a background in the agricultural industry, became a consultant as Costco was researching for the project.
Lincoln Premium Poultry is the first ever meat processing program for Costco. The project involved a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations which matched Jessica's experience.
Jessica explained that Costco had done some analysis of their sales and noted the vast numbers of chickens that they were using. They have a very popular $4.99 rotisserie chicken. They realized that there are not enough chickens raised in the United States to continue selling at the current pace.
Costco has a reputation for being good corporate and community citizens. They show concern for the environment, employees, and citizens. They are known for taking care of their associates and offering excellent benefits.
With Lincoln Premium Poultry, they have put many features in place - some that are not required - to ensure clean, friendly production.
By having their own growing operation and processing plant, Costco can ensure what they expect - 1) the highest standards in the industry, and 2) to always do the right thing. They only use antibiotics on chickens that are ill and then place that chicken in a different product line. Even the waste is treated in a way that is clean and used by farmers on fields that need the nutrients.
The plant will generate about 800 new jobs and will support farmers and small businesses that serve the plant. They expect to be open for production in April 2019. The plant, which will be in Fremont, will infuse about $400 million for building the plant along with barns to house chickens on area farms.
The plant will generate about 800 new jobs and will support farmers and small businesses that serve the plant. They expect to be open for production in April 2019. The plant, which will be in Fremont, will infuse about $400 million for building the plant along with barns to house chickens on area farms.
They plan to process more than 2 million chickens a week, serving all of the Costco stores from Nebraska to the West.