Picking up the pieces:Southern California cattle feeders look for alternatives in the wake of the Brawley plant closure

摘要

The Imperial Valley is a different place now. Long the center of California's cattle feeding industry, this southeast-ernmost part of California, nestled against Mexico to the south and Arizona to the east, was rocking and rolling as 2014 dawned bright and clear. Just a few short months later, the region had taken on a decidedly different atmosphere.What's different is that the National Beef Packing Co. plant at Brawley shut its doors in May. By some estimates, anywhere from a third to a half of the region's 400,000 head of cattle have left the valley, perhaps never to return.