The two largest employers in Ford County (Dodge City) are National Beef with 2,950 employees and Cargill Meat Solutions, 2,700 employees. National Beef purchased a large Dodge City slaughterhouse in 1992. Cargill began operations in Dodge City in 1979 and its plant eventually reached a capacity of slaughtering and processing 6,000 cattle per day. National Beef also owns and operates a slaughterhouse and beef packing plant in Liberal with a capacity of processing 6,000 cattle per day and employing about 3,500 people. That number of employees comprises about one-third of the total employed work force in Seward County where Liberal is located.
