DENVER, CO — Voters in Denver rejected a ballot ordinance that would have stopped slaughterhouse production within city limits.
The returns from Denver showed the opposition vote was 64.56% (140,457 votes) voting against the initiative compared to 35% (77,102) who voted for the passing of the ordinance, according to the Denver election website.
If the ordinance had been approved, Superior Farms in Denver, the largest lamb packing plant in the United States and the only facility in the city, would have needed to shut down by 2026.
The Superior Farms location processes about 1,500 head of lamb per day, accounting for 15-20% of the total lamb harvesting in the United States. The facility’s functions cover harvest, fabrication and case-ready production. The company employs 160 people, of which nearly 80% are residents of Denver.
Lisa Stuber, Executive Secretary of the South Dakota Sheep Growers had observed earlier this fall that the vote in Denver affected not only business in that city and surrounding areas, but it would be an even bigger issue nation-wide. “Approximately 20-25% of the sheep in the U.S. are processed at the Superior Farms plant. If we were to lose that facility, it would have a dramatic impact on the sheep industry-including in states like South Dakota.”
An opposition group named “Stop the Ban, Protect Jobs” started a campaign early in 2024, stating its position that the ban unfairly targeted a 70-year-old employee-owned business. Over the last few months, the campaign explained the cost of shipping meat from out of state would increase along with the plant closure and job loss.
A study in May by Colorado State University detailed how the ban could reduce Colorado economic activity by $861 million and affect more than 2,700 jobs.
The study cited recent figures from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service that show Colorado has 21 USDA-inspected sheep and lamb slaughter plants operating in the state, with a capacity of 400,000 lambs.
Only two federally inspected facilities (Superior Farms and Colorado Lamb Processors) have a capacity greater than 100,000 lambs per year.
The “Stop the Ban. Protect Jobs” campaign raised more than $2.4 million in contributions from the Meat Institute ($250,000), Superior Farms ($171,058), the National Pork Producers Council ($60,000), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association ($65,000), and the Colorado Livestock Association ($103,000). The American Sheep Industry Association ($80,000) and the United Food & Commercial Workers International ($25,000) also were among the donors.
Pro-Animal Denver, the group in favor of the ballot measure, raised around $339,000 for its side of the campaign.
