Earnings of a model side-upper tannery are estimated to be increased by $2.07 per hide when fresh cattle hides replace salt-cured hides as the raw material input. Fresh hides reduce processing time in beamhouse operations, saving the equivalent of 53 cents per hide. In tannage--from beaming through paste-plate drying to crust leather--the greater yield of fresh over salt-cured hides (3 percent) adds another 22-cent savings. The largest potential increase in earnings ($1.32 per hide) results from sales of more leather (3 percent increase in yield) per hide. Research by USDA's Agricultural Research Service and Economic Research Service on reducing tannery wastes and pollution costs shows that fresh hide processing has the potential for meeting added waste treatment costs. Pollution waste treatment costs used in the model tannery can be offset by the cost savings and increased revenues resulting from the shift to processing fresh instead of salt-cured cattle hides.