To foster the success of small meat processors in Iowa and positively impact directly marketed livestock and rural vitality.
Latest News:
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Small Meat Processors Working Group is pleased to announce the Open-House Mini-grant Winners. Congratulations to Ventura Locker, Food Locker Service, Milo Locker, and Polashek’s Locker Service. Click here for a listing of dates for each open house.
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August 21, 2008 –Product Costing Review Session click here for more information.
- Small Meat Processors’ Resource Guidebook Jan 2008
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Meetings:
Meetings are held approximately every two months. While the working group welcomes new input, meetings are not open to the public. For more information or to inquire about participating in the working group, contact:
Arion Thiboumery
(515) 294-2882
arion@iastate.edu
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Small meat processing plants are necessary for the vitality of Iowa’s agriculture and rural lifestyle. In 1965, there were more than 550 small meat plants in Iowa. Today there are less than 200. To address this decline, interested researchers came together to form the Small Meat Processors Working Group.
What We Do:
A Small Meat Processors’ Resource Guidebook has been compiled that addresses each of these five areas, along with the many rules and regulations that govern small meat plants. In general, each section focuses first on local resources and then moves to state and federal assistance. Section 4 includes a list of contractors who have recently designed and or constructed a meat processing plant.
The working group is also developing and offering specialty trainings for small meat processors. A cost accounting workshop was offered in the summer of 2007 (with funding from the Leopold Center) and will be offered again in the summer of 2008 (with funding from Value Chain Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture).
Project Overview:
The goal of the Small Meat Processors Working Group is to help small, Iowa meat processors expand, upgrade or build new facilities in order to promote rural development—directly via the processors, and indirectly by helping offer greater market access for livestock producers and greater purchasing options for local and regional household and non-household buyers.
There are serious and persistent problems affecting the success of small meat processors, and while many groups are supporting them or are interested in supporting them, they can’t do it alone. The Small Meat Processors Working Group was formed to bridge the gap between the following groups that are critical to the success of small meat processors:
- Business Planning and Feasibility
- Financing and Financial Assistance
- Plant Design and Construction
- Rules and Regulations
- Labor
Project collaborators:
Project funders:
In addition to VCP, this project has been funded by the following organizations:
