Dodge City Tourist Trap Tips by atufft Top 5 Page for this destination

Smelly Overlook off US56

Driving southwest from Great Bend to Dodge City, there is a smelly overlook above Excell Corporation's huge beef processing plant. These crowded and inhumane feed lots are frankly disgusting in my mind, serving as a reminder that the western cattle drives really deserve their nostalgia. In those days, at least the cattle were able to graze over thousands of acres of lush Kansas prairie before arriving at the railroad where they would be sent to Kansas City for slaughter. Today, 500-600 pound calves are brought the plant and within 140 days are fattened up to some 1,200-1,300 lbs. Of this, some 850 lbs are eatable beef, while the rest--organs, bloods, fat, skin, and bones, are used to produce a wide variety of chemicals and leather products. Excell Corporation processes 6,000 cattle per day, six days a week, making it one of the world's largest beef processors. Nearby National Beef is the world's largest privately held beef processor, processing 4,000 head of cattle per day. The world's largest cattle auction is also in Dodge City. Kansas in general dominates the beef industry in the USA, by producing one quarter of all beef produced in the USA.