Last week I wrote about a neat old abandoned grain elevator in rural Nebraska. This week I'd like to share an incredibly interesting, but far more macabre site: an abandoned slaughterhouse and meat packing plant.
Most people would rather not think about what happens to meat before it reaches the dinner table. Commercials show us peaceful images of cows grazing in sunny pastures, and then transition to backyard family barbecues with hamburger patties sizzling on the grill. Between the two images exists a hazy truth that most people dare not examine, lest we lose our appetites.
I'd been inside a slaughterhouse once as a child. It was a small operation where a relative worked. Thankfully no animals were being processed at the time. I remember very little from the experience, but the one thing that stands out is the awful smell that permeated the air.
While in Nebraska, I was fortunate to have a look inside one of these eerie facilities long after it ceased operating. It had been vacant for decades and the stench of death had long since dissipated, giving way to the comparatively benign dusty odor that is typical of abandoned places.
A massive barn served as a holding area for the cattle during their final hours of life.
From there, the cows were led through a narrow corral to the killing area.
Blood drained out through a large grate in the floor.
From the killing area, a track ran along the ceiling, where the carcasses were suspended by meat hooks and moved along in a disassembly line through a network of stations.
A tremendous amount of equipment remains on the main floor of the facility. Time has coated much of it in a patina of rust and cobwebs.
Dozens of sinks are scattered throughout the facility, operated by foot pedals instead of faucet handles.
The plant appeared to have been cleaned prior to abandonment and the only remnants of slaughtered cows were a few sets of hoof bones on the killing floor.
Heavy doors and dark stairways led deep into the bowels of the old building.
The basement contained heavy equipment.
In some areas the floor was covered in standing water.
Flooding seems to be a regular problem. The basement of the administration building also showed signs of water damage.
Paw prints of raccoons or opossums were scattered throughout the dark basement.
A conveyor belt ran from the meat processing section of the facility to a massive warehouse-like structure that I assume was used for refrigerated storage.
Much of the furniture has been removed from the administration building.
But curtains still hang in the windows. Whiteboards and other documents remain tacked to the walls.
I can only imagine how stressful it must have been to work there, especially for those employees who oversaw the slaughter of the animals. But there was plenty of stress for other workers as well.
A memo still hangs on the wall, instructing employees how to proceed in case of a variety of dangers, including bomb threats.
Among the other memos were instructions for how to care for skin rashes and stitches.
In one cramped room sits a clunky old computer and a series of safety training tapes.
This was definitely one of the more interesting abandoned places I've explored, and also one of the most eerie. When the sky grew dark, I got back on the road and continued eastward into Omaha. Come back next week and I'll tell you about an abandoned industrial tower I explored there.
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Thank you!
I wonder how many people would actually eat beef if they knew how it was slaughtered---or even raised.
ReplyDeleteHubby and I have driven back roads all over Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, you name it. The horrors of those feed lots were enough to turn us off store bought (and restaurant!) beef years ago. We have a neighbor that raises a few cattle every year---they spend their lives on pasture and even when it's time for the kill, they do everything to ensure the death is painless and , well, a surprise. Happy cows until the end. I still feel like a hypocrite eating the occasional meat (very rarely ) because I know I could never kill the animal. You're right. We are SO separated from reality anymore.
Loved the tour of this place, but yea, gruesome too.
Thanks for the photo essay. What an evil, horribly sad, chilling place. So glad I'm a vegetarian. Thanks for the post. Maybe it will help a few people break out of their denial
ReplyDeleteI wont Deny that I am making the most delicious Bacon right now
DeleteI think bout giving up meat all the time. The process really is horrible. What was the name of this place do you know why it was shut down?
ReplyDeleteI saw on another page of his that it is at Cozad NE it is right down the road from Roscoe and the abandoned grain elevator on highway 30.
DeleteGO VEGAN! Those places are LIVING HELL for those poor animals!!! EVIL HUMANS!
ReplyDeletemmmmm bacon, 2nd hand vegan, they eat plants I eat them
DeleteWhat horrors of the feedlots? I've raised cattle in feedlots my whole life. Trust me. They have a nice life there. They're not abused or tortured. They have fresh feed and water everyday. We always work to make sure they are dry and comfortable. If one is sick it is pulled right away and treated and released back to the pen once it's better. Most feedlot cattle are treated better than cattle on pasture. There just isn't enough grass to raise the amount of cattle we need to produce meat for everyone. Feedlots aren't this big scary place. Cattle like it there trust me. Cattle off pasture and feedlots end up in the same packing plant. Not trying start anything. Just telling you my side of the story. Grass fed beef and grain fed beef are both happy cattle. More than willing to show you around a feedlot and let you see first hand how well they are treated.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle raised cattle, though it was on a really small scale compared to the factory farms of today. He only had a few dozen cows at a time on his farm. I'd definitely be interested in touring a feedlot and even a functioning slaughterhouse.
DeleteI've worked on the kill floors of slaughterhouses, both pork and beef, and can identify much of that equipment. For the person who said it is a Living hell for the animals: Sorry, you are WRONG WRONG WRONG!! The animals are killed VERY quickly and VERY humanely. From then on it is a process of taking the carcass down to its basic parts, which are ALL used in some way or another.
ReplyDeleteBut then again, I was raised on a farm and butchered our own meat, from rabbits & chickens to beef & pork so I don't have the unhealthy squeamishness of those who have never been exposed to real life.
Go ahead and be a VEGAN: Just leaves more meat for me! :)
I am extremely curious as to where this is.
Oh yeah, great knowing that you are about to be killed in a lineup with your fellow creatures. Sounds like heaven. Not being squeamish about killing creatures doesn't make you superior which you appear to think you are.
DeletePeople like you are so angry about vegans lol. It's embarrassing, and I'm not even a vegan. Hope you've grown up since then.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTalk about growing up? Do you really think that this is not hell for the animals? Recently a herd of cows escaped from a slaughterhouse and did whatever they could to get away.
DeleteMaybe you might want to try a reading comprehension course. Where do you get the idea that I am angry about vegans?
DeleteHere an an idea of the life of a dairy cow. Probably similar in the US.
DeleteCull dairy cows at an auction in Ontario, the cows appear thin and have very full udders.
Cows like her need you now
I want to tell you about 10687. If you saw her on a commercial, she would be given the name Daisy. Unfortunately, many dairy farms in Canada are not the idyllic pasture scenes we often see on TV.
10687 does not get to graze across fields of green with her calf calmly suckling at her teat. Instead, she and most other cows on dairy farmer in Canada spend day after day, mostly indoors, often tied up while being fed a nutrient-dense diet so she will pump out around 10 times the milk she would give naturally. Instead of her calf at her teat, there is a cold metal machine as her calf was taken from her within hours of being born to, ironically, be fed a milk substitute.
10687 has had three calves torn away from her, and three months after each she was inseminated to start the cycle again. Sadly, after nearly five years of suffering she is so worn out so that she can no longer conceive, and her health has deteriorated. She may be suffering from painful foot and leg injuries, or mastitis, an extremely painful udder infection.
This means 10687 is not ‘productive’ and is now part of the 30%-40% of Canadian dairy cows that will be culled this year. Worst of all, after living a life of suffering to nourish people, she is now going to be treated even more poorly in her final days.
She, like thousands of other cull dairy cows, will deteriorate rapidly as she is sent to slaughter. She will be given little food and water while at auction and in transport. In transport, she will be crammed into trucks and may not be milked before the journey, so her udder will throb. She will spend between 1 to 16 days getting to her destination – slowly getting worse.
10687 may survive the journey or she may arrive so sick and injured that she is too weak to stand up. Sadly, some cull cows don’t survive the trip.
This does not need to happen, and it should not be happening. Don’t you agree?
Better welfare standards, regulation and management in Canada could make a cow’s last days of life much more comfortable. This is the least we can do for an animal that has given so much.
Wow. Great photos. That photo with the Gould Modicon 584 M controller PLC. Googled it online, and lots of them for sale from $1,400.00 to almost $2,000.00 Programmable Logic Controllers are not cheap, and actually hold their value for long periods of time. Would love to have this one here. I think it controlled the refrigeration. I am an HVAC-R tech/electrician, and love exploring, and looking at the vintage electrical systems, and related components in abandoned places. So many urban explorers never do that. I feel I am the only one that focuses on these items. I got many old vintage electrical items from old places like this. They are built of a much higher quality than today's cheap stuff. Heck most of these meat packing plants used Ammonia, and Sulfur Dioxide as their refrigerant way back in the day. Very natural refrigerants. Now we use synthetic refrigerants that are harming our ozone layer. Would be cool to see one of these old refrigeration plants still operating. I bet I could keep it going with my expertise, and knowledge. Got to get to these things before the copper scrappers destroy them. I never understood why people have to destroy thousands of dollars worth of equipment just for a few chunk change worth of money. I would take whole unit, sell, and reinstall myself, and make way more money doing so then destroying it for scrap. I have reclaimed many a/c units from abandoned properties that were being demolished. I take these units, and sell them to others for cheap that can't afford to spend big bucks on a new system. It's about helping people in need.
DeleteAny specific location of this place?
ReplyDeleteIt is located in Darr, Nebraska between Cozad and Lexington on highway 30. You can see it on google maps.
DeleteDo you have exact coordinates?
DeleteThat looks awesome, where in Nebraska is this??
ReplyDeleteAny contact info?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know where this is. Would love to explore it and take pictures
ReplyDeleteIt is located in Darr, Nebraska between Cozad and Lexington on Highway 30.
DeleteLove your site, Jim! I am fascinated by these old abandoned places. It's absolutely amazing that humans are so wasteful to build entire towns for a purpose and then just walk away from them eventually, leaving the once beautiful structures to rot. I forgot what brought me to your blog, but I'm glad it did. Great work, and stay safe out there bud!
ReplyDeleteThose first few photos were of the cattle knocking box and sticking pen from there they go to the left and right leggers and flankers theen the hide pullers thats how we done it in the abattoir i worked in the photo of the basement would have been a blood and bone or rendering mill
ReplyDeleteI believe this was in Cozad?
DeleteDarr, Nebraska east of Cozad. The only people who get upset about meat packing are those who have never worked or never lived on a farm. Until the late 20th Century a lot of Americans were aware of killing animals for food. It only after most people become urbanized that they develop a false heaven on earth attitude toward everything. This is the old Dugdale plant which was late bought by EXCEL and closed around 1987. This isn't a big plant compared to the old Omaha facilities. In 2021 it's still there on US 30.
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty sure this is the former Minden Beef Company near Minden Nebraska.
ReplyDeleteMy stepdad was a Forman there and my brother worked there a few years. I also worked there one summer between my junior and senior high school years. I knew it wasn’t for me.