LINCOLN — Nebraska “got our butts kicked” by the Tyson Foods decision to close a Lexington beef plant employing about 3,200 people, Gov. Jim Pillen said Monday. But he sees a possible Hail Mary pass to resurrect the industrial property. Pillen, in an interview with the Nebraska Examiner on the agribusiness closure, said he learned officially of Tyson’s decision Friday at noon, just a few hours before the Arkansas-based multinational corporation made the news public.

He said his team had been seeking a meeting with company officials amid the struggles faced by the cattle industry, including cutters and other meat processors facing lower cattle supplies and higher retail prices for beef.

The governor said he was told a key contributor to Tyson’s decision involved the age and inefficiencies of the Lexington factory, which was built decades ago to manufacture combines and other farm machinery.

The “good news,” Pillen said, is that Tyson officials are exploring other options for the Lexington property, including repurposing it into a specialty, “value-added” agricultural operation akin to Tyson’s Omaha plant that produces millions of pounds of raw and cooked bacon.

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