Between worsening labor shortages, rising wages, low cattle inventory, and increasing consumer expectations for quality and sustainability, today’s beef processors are facing a lot of pressure. Based on what RMH Systems sees every day in regional beef plants, labor challenges are no longer isolated issues—they’re industry-wide.

This has led operations to rethink automation—not as a simple cost-cutting measure but as a strategic investment in performance, efficiency, and maximizing existing employees. In this context, ROI is closely tied to labor since beef processing automation reduces reliance on hard-to-staff roles, limits overtime, and stabilizes production.

4 Reasons Why Labor Challenges Are Accelerating Automation

Attracting and retaining workers has been a longstanding challenge for the industry. This gap has only continued to widen post-COVID. Here are four of the top reasons.

1. Rising Labor Costs

According to the most recent available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median hourly wage for people working in meat processing plants increased by approximately 10% between 2022 and 2023.

To attract workers, plants may raise wages, offer bonuses, or increase overtime, all of which drive labor costs even higher.

2. Competition from Other Industries

Similar pay is available in warehouses, logistics, or construction, which offer more favorable working conditions.

3. Physically Demanding Work Environment

Many beef processing tasks require repetitive motion, heavy lifting, and long hours in temperature-controlled environments. Over time, these demands can lead to fatigue, injuries, and higher turnover.

Automation can help by taking on the most physically demanding or repetitive tasks, reducing strain on employees, and allowing skilled workers to focus on oversight, quality, and higher-value responsibilities. This not only improves safety and longevity for the workforce but also helps plants maintain consistent throughput.

4. Negative Perceptions from Younger Workers

As experienced workers retire, the next generation entering the workforce is looking for roles that offer safety, stability, and opportunities to grow. Traditional perceptions of meat processing jobs don’t always align with those expectations.

By integrating automation and modern material handling systems, processors can create cleaner, safer, and more technology-driven work environments. These investments help make roles more attractive to younger workers while opening the door to advancement in areas like controls, maintenance, and system oversight.

Debunking Common Misconceptions about Automation for Regional Processors

Industrial automation looks different depending on plant size and the market it serves.

High-volume processors focus on maximizing throughput to serve customers nationally and globally. For regional processors, customer satisfaction is closely tied to quality and sustainability, especially in local markets where relationships and reputations matter.

Because of these differences, regional processors may think that automation isn’t for them, and may have assumptions about where it fits, how it works and whether it aligns with their goals.

Misconception #1 – Automation Is Only for Large Processors

Automation might seem like it’s only for very high-paced, high-volume plants. In reality, systems are extremely flexible. They can be used to automate parts of a line, and can be designed to scale with you as you grow or as priorities change.

Even for seemingly small or uncomplicated operations, targeted material handling automation can alleviate bottlenecks and keep lines running smoothly without overcomplicating existing processes.

Misconception #2 – Automation Is Too Expensive

While automation is a long-term investment, other factors like labor savings, less overtime and lower turnover should be considered since they offset the cost over time.

Processors can also take advantage of recent federal changes that accelerate payback for automation, equipment and production buildings.

RELATED: New Budget Law Accelerates Payback for Manufacturers: What You Need to Know

Misconception #3 – Automation Will Compromise Product Quality

Quality is key for regional processors—and they may worry that automation may somehow compromise that. In reality, automation is so precise that it delivers near-perfect accuracy and repeatability while preserving product quality. It also helps with sustainability by reducing product damage and waste, minimizing reword and improving yield.

Misconception #4 – Automation Replaces People

Automation should be viewed as a workplace support (and even a recruiting tool) instead of a workforce replacement. It’s a way to reduce strain in physically demanding positions, alleviate staffing shortages in hard-to-fill roles, and reassign employees to more important tasks.

Misconception #5 – ROI Will Take Too Long

Automation might seem like it’ll take years to pay off, but in reality, the payoff is much sooner than anticipated in industries with high turnover or ones that are paying out a lot of overtime.

Sample ROI Timeframe in a Regional Beef Processing Operation

ROI for automation isn’t typically a single moment. It builds over time through labor savings, productivity gains and risk reduction.

How to Know Where to Start with Automation

When you’re identifying opportunities for automation, you need to consider a practical, plant-level perspective instead of just a single area or line. Here’s how to get started.

1. Choose a system integration partner. Knowing when and where to automate goes beyond identifying equipment. It requires working with a system integrator who’s experienced in automating beef processing operations and can help you evaluate labor, cost, and performance data.

At RMH Systems, we’ve helped regional processors like Sustainable Beef, Caviness Beef Packers, and True West Beef rethink the way they work through multiple automation projects. Here’s what one of them had to say about working with our expert team.

“RMH is always up-to-date on new innovative technology as it relates to product handling & packaging. They’ve always provided excellent service, and thoughtful advice. I have found them to be extremely detail-oriented, and they do a great job communicating throughout the lifeline of a project.” —Trevor Caviness, Caviness Beef Packers, Ltd.

RELATED: See the beef processing automation projects we’ve completed

2. Identify bottlenecks and main cost drivers. This involves identifying where labor challenges are limiting performance–roles that are physically demanding, hard to staff or heavily reliant on overtime–and how automation can solve these challenges.

3. Compare current labor costs to automated alternatives. Once you’ve identified bottlenecks, the next step is comparing costs for maintaining difficult roles against the cost of automating them. You’ll need to consider staffing levels, overtime, and coverage against the performance and reliability of an automated solution. In most situations, automation will provide more consistent output while reducing the need for hard-to-fill positions.

4. Consider more than just wages, factoring in all labor-related expenses. Wages aren’t the full picture. You need to also consider costs for recruiting, training, turnover, overtime, and worker’s compensation. When looking at expenses as a whole, automation typically makes more sense, especially in processing roles that have high turnover or high risk of physical strain.

5. Select applications with a clear, measurable impact. Start where results can be clearly measured, such as labor inputs, consistent workloads, and quantifiable outputs. This helps you build more confidence before you expand automation to other parts of your operations.

Finding the Right ROI with RMH Systems

With labor shortages not expected to ease up anytime soon–for any industry–automation will continue to be a critical tool for maintaining performance, consistency, and long-term profitability for regional beef processors. If you’re thinking about automation and want to know where automation can provide the best ROI in your operations, RMH Systems is here to help. Our team is deeply experienced in beef processing automation and can help you evaluate opportunities that align with your operation, your workforce, and your business goals.