Tag: USDA-inspected

“COVID shined a light on how we had neglected our food chain, and it also shined a light on where our whole [meat processing] system…

The meat processing industry has consolidated dramatically over the past several decades, moving from local and regional systems to a highly-centralized model. At Friesla, we…

“Before COVID, you could call your local butcher and get a harvest slot the next week. But now you need to call a year in…

Craft butcher shops used to be a staple in communities across America. Consumers had access to fresh, locally-produced meat, hand cut by butchers they knew…

MTXBeef started over a COVID-era cocktail and a campfire. It was spring 2020. The pandemic had hit. Nestled in the rolling Texas Hill Country—west of…

Think that opening a meat processing plant during a pandemic might be tough? Try starting the first nonprofit, federally-inspected meat processing plant in the United…

Designing, engineering, permitting, and constructing a new building can be costly and time-consuming. A meat processing plant is no exception. Meat producers may consider building…

There are many steps to moving a finished animal from pasture or feedlot to steak on a plate. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates…

Brian and Mary Heffernan knew that starting a meat processing business would be challenging. “Nothing is easy,” Brian quips. “If it were, everyone would do…

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mac and Celsie Sussex—owners of Bear Mountain Beef in Hawk Springs, Wyoming—faced both a problem and an opportunity.…