Why It Matters
The sudden closure of a major beef and bison processing facility in Idaho Falls has left 150 workers unemployed with little warning, delivering a sharp blow to the local economy and raising questions about the long-term viability of a plant that had been a fixture in the region’s agricultural processing sector since 2022.
For a community where ranching and livestock processing are woven into the economic fabric, the abrupt shutdown highlights the fragility that can accompany agricultural supply chain disruptions — and the real-world cost borne by working Idaho families when those chains break down.
What Happened
American Farmers Network, a Bellevue, Washington-based grass-fed beef supplier operating a 66,000-square-foot beef and bison processing plant at 1096 East Iona Road in Idaho Falls, closed its doors without advance notice on Friday, April 4, 2026. The facility was formerly known as Intermountain Packing.
According to a former employee who spoke with EastIdahoNews.com on condition of anonymity, workers were summoned to a meeting with human resources Friday morning. There, they received a letter citing ongoing challenges receiving and processing cattle as the reason for the immediate closure.
“We were struggling to get cattle in,” the former employee said. “It was going really good until December, but then it started declining. It got to the point where we were just harvesting one day a week, and we started losing a lot of people.”
A federal notice filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act confirms the 150-employee layoff. The WARN Act requires large employers to provide at least 60 days’ advance notice before major layoffs or plant closures — a requirement the company appears to have bypassed. The notice was filed with the Idaho Department of Labor on Friday and updated Monday.
By the Numbers
- 150 employees laid off in the sudden closure
- 66,000 square feet — the size of the processing facility on Iona Road
- 500 head of livestock per day — the plant’s stated processing capacity at its 2022 opening
- 2,884 head of livestock — the number the USDA alleged Intermountain Packing failed to pay for between September and December 2023
- $3.8 million — the total value of livestock payments the USDA alleged went unpaid
A History of Problems
The plant, which originally opened in 2022 under the Intermountain Packing name, had accumulated a notable record of legal and regulatory trouble before Friday’s closure.
The company was charged with a misdemeanor for public nuisance after widespread complaints from neighbors about a foul odor emanating from the facility. Court records alleged the company allowed a “pungent odor that is offensive to the senses” to be emitted, interfering with the community’s enjoyment of their property.
More significantly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a complaint against the company and its former CEO, David Adams, in December 2024, alleging violations of the Packers and Stockyard Act. The USDA alleged that between September and December 2023, the company failed to pay cattle suppliers more than $3.8 million for nearly 2,900 head of livestock.
In May 2025, Intermountain Packing was acquired by American Farmers Network, and Sanin Mirvic took over as CEO. It remains unclear whether the USDA’s earlier investigation extended to the new ownership. EastIdahoNews.com contacted the USDA for comment, but inquiries had not been returned as of Tuesday. Reporters who visited the facility found the gate surrounding the property locked.
Zoom Out
The closure reflects broader pressures facing independent meat processing operations across the Mountain West. Smaller regional processors have struggled to compete for livestock supply against larger national packers, and infrastructure challenges in rural Idaho can compound those difficulties. When processing capacity disappears from a region, ranchers face longer hauls and reduced leverage in negotiations — costs that ultimately ripple through the entire agricultural supply chain.
The situation also underscores the importance of enforcing federal protections like the Packers and Stockyard Act, which exist to ensure ranchers and livestock producers are paid fairly and promptly for their animals.
What’s Next
Affected workers will likely be directed to Idaho Department of Labor resources for retraining and unemployment assistance under WARN Act provisions. The former employee noted speculation among workers about possible legal complications surrounding the closure, though details remain unconfirmed.
Whether federal regulators will take additional action regarding American Farmers Network — and whether the plant’s regulatory and legal history played a role in the shutdown — remains to be seen. EastIdahoNews.com is continuing to seek comment from the USDA and company officials.
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