Garner-based Butterball will close its turkey facility in Longmont, Colorado at the end of the year and is seeks to lower operating costs in the face of rising feed prices.

"After long and careful consideration, amid record high ingredient costs, our company has come to the conclusion that we must take these steps in order to improve our overall effectiveness.” said Rod Brenneman, Butterball's CEO.

Brenneman said government ethanol subsidies and record high fuel prices for much of 2010 and 2011 contributed to a major increase in operating costs at the plant.

Brenneman took over as CEO earlier this month.

He is a 22-year veteran of Seaboard Corp. of Kansas, the holding company that acquired a 50 percent stake in Butterball in December. Maxwell Farms owns the other half of Butterball.

Brenneman warned in an interview earlier this month that Butterball, like all poultry and pork producers, needs to be more efficient and lower operating costs.