A federal judge is allowing Northern Beef Packers to borrow $512,000 to pay bills as its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case continues, reports KDLT NBC News.

Judge Charles Nail approved the plant's request to obtain secured credit during a hearing on Thursday. Northern Beef's request to borrow $2.25 million and move forward with a sale of the beef plant will be considered during the next hearing, scheduled for Sept. 26 in Pierre.

Northern Beef Packers opened its $109 million state-of-the-art facility on a limited basis in 2012 after years of delays. But its owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than a year later, saying they didn't have enough money to buy cattle for slaughter. The plant wants to hold an auction sale rather than have its case move into a Chapter 7 liquidation.

Source: KDLT.com