Automation continues to make inroads into the beef industry as technology improves. Dr. Phil Bass, associate professor of meat science in the Department of Animal, Veterinary and Food Sciences at University of Idaho, explains that plenty of opportunities remain. Indeed, smaller meat and poultry species have been able to take advantage of technological advancements at a faster pace, but the ingenuity of engineers and technicians has the beef industry catching up.

Meanwhile, although the price of beef continues to rise, Bass says, consumers keep buying beef — but the U.S. cattle herd remains constrained, meaning times could remain tough for meatpackers and new meatpacking plants until the cattle supply expands again.