Business Update
posted on
April 9, 2021
Our new processing plant is nearing completion! We are so looking forward to having space, we are expecting a June start-up.
Prepared Foods
In the design of this new building, we have a place for an expansion to build an incubator/industrial kitchen & processing area for cooked and prepared meats and vegetables. Examples of products we are thinking of: breaded tenderloins, breaded turkey & chicken breasts, roast beef, pork tenderloin, short ribs, spare ribs, roasted chuck roasts. As you may have noticed we are planning to start with products that we generally have excess of to better help us utilize the cow/pig. But we would also like to hear from you, what products could we produce that would further prepare our existing products into something that would help you? We are thinking of buying industrial sized equipment and packaging to create a top quality product with minimal labor. The products would still be all natural, our meats, natural seasonings and locally grown produce.
Why?
We’ve been asked by many customers over the years to have an easier to prepare product. As many of you are faced with kitchen space & labor shortages you want us to further prepare the meat to make things simpler on your end. The big advantage for us is to better utilize the whole animal. We can also account for the seasonality of products (such as pot roasts in the summer) to better balance out our calendar year.
Why now?
The USDA has more funding than usual to award Value Added Producer Grants because of Covid relief funding. So we have a better chance of getting a kick-starting grant with very low matching criteria. The grant would not cover the building or equipment expenses but would potentially pay for a Chef/Cook and order fulfillment person for the first 3 years.
Questions:
What prepared meats would you be interested in or think would make a saleable product? Other thoughts or feedback?