Garden City, KS, April 8, 2026 — empirical, America’s premier producer of USDA inspected lean
ground beef and beef products, today announced the opening of a new state of the art
production facility in Garden City, Kansas. The long-term investment will strengthen domestic
ground beef supply by increasing efficiency, enhancing food safety, and reducing food loss at
time of record high beef prices.

The operation comes online as the beef industry continues to face persistent structural
challenges, including constrained domestic supply, rising ground beef costs, ongoing food loss,
and commitments to meet sustainability goals at scale. Rather than expanding cattle numbers or
increasing resource use, empirical’s model centers on innovation that creates new value through
increasing the availability of lean beef from existing U.S. produced cattle.

In response to growing demand of empirical’s lean ground beef by leading restaurant, retail, and
food service companies the organization expanded its operations through a major investment in
a new 280,000 square foot facility. The plant represents one of the most sophisticated food
production operations in the world designed in a manner that easily allows for future expansion
to meet ongoing demands.

Initially the plant will increase the company’s production of lean ground beef by 50%, with the
ability to expand significantly in the future. In addition, empirical will increase the production of
high-quality tallow used in cooking oils, cosmetics, renewable fuels, and consumer products —
making it one of America’s largest producers of tallow. These expanded capabilities build on
empirical’s portfolio, which includes Noble Valley ground beef, Two Rivers boxed beef and pork,
Dos Rios taco meat and Jen’s Beef Bolognese and Sloppy Joe at its operations in South Sioux
City, Nebraska.

The new facility will create over 250 new skilled and semi-skilled jobs supported by empirical’s
technical team with support from its partnership with the Garden City Community College. The
Garden City expansion will supplement empirical’s production operations in Nebraska and its
headquarters in South Dakota.

For over 45 years, empirical has helped the industry capture an average of twenty-one additional
pounds of available beef per head of cattle — supporting greater supply while reducing
inefficiency across the value chain.

“This facility reflects a belief that efficiency is one of the most effective tools the industry has to
strengthen domestic supply,” said Craig Letch, President, Empirical Foods. “Increasing the
availability of beef without increasing cattle numbers supports resilience across the system —
from producers through consumers.”

The Garden City facility was designed using decades of operational learning, with a focus on
long-term performance rather than short-term optimization. Food safety is engineered directly
into the system through equipment design, layouts, and workflows. Automation is applied to
improve control, consistency, and reliability — not simply speed.

“This is more than a ceremonial opening of a new facility,” said Nick Roth, President, Empirical
Technology & Empirical Innovations. “This facility is the culmination of five decades of innovation,
and sets a new bar for food safety, efficiency and work environment for the next 50 years.”
By increasing the supply of high-quality, extra-lean ground beef, the facility helps reduce
pressure on imports while supporting more consistent and cost-effective ground beef
formulations for customers. Greater availability of lean beef also contributes to affordability for
consumers without compromising safety or quality – an ongoing challenge faced by restaurants,
retailers, and food service company in today’s economy.

In an era where one third of all food produced in the world goes to waste, empirical’s process
addresses food loss by redesigning how lean beef is separated from fat, keeping more protein in
higher-value food channels. In doing so, the company produces value through innovation that
was heretofore not possible.