The Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) is developing a mobile meat processing facility in Central Minnesota. The brand-new facility will have two units.
The first unit is a slaughter facility. The slaughter facility will be a mobile unit and will travel around the region. Given logistical needs, the slaughter unit will not go to individual farms. Rather, there will be established locations throughout the region where the unit will remain in place for a set number of days and then rotate to a new location.
The second unit is the processing facility. This unit will be located in the Staples industrial park. The property is near Central Lakes College (CLC). This is critical, as MFU has an agreement with CLC to use the facility as a training site for their meat-cutting and butchery program. The goal is to give students the skills to enter the trade and become staff (and potentially owners) of local meat markets.
As the mobile meat processing facility moves from vision to production, MFU partnered with University of Minnesota Extension to conduct a feasibility study.
Read the final results of the study.
Key findings
- The mobile meat facility has a solid financial plan in place.
- Once operational, the facility is projected to earn a net profit by the end of year one. Financials have been reviewed by project partners and appear to be reasonable.
- The MFU has a solid understanding of the technical feasibility of the project.
- While new to managing a mobile meat facility, MFU has formed partnerships that provide a solid technical foundation for the new facility. Happy Dancing Turtle has relationships with livestock producers to help identify and source animals for the facility.
- AURI has experienced consultants that work with emerging industries to provide technical assistance. CLC’s meat cutting and butchering instructor has years of industry experience to help navigate the butchering and marketing activities.
- The MFU is proactively addressing environmental risks.
- MFU has considered the environmental risks associated with the mobile meat facility. Locating the fixed unit in an industrial park limits concerns regarding safety and neighborhoods.
- Its relationship with Central Bi-Products means carcasses and other remnants can be safely disposed of.
- The MFU has experience in operating businesses.
- MFU and its affiliated organizations have experience operating successful businesses. The organization has established itself as a statewide leader in addressing the meat processing bottleneck and workforce training needs.
- The organization also has a direct relationship with a suite of value-added businesses.
- Regional competitors welcome the new mobile meat processing facility, especially the workers it will train.
- By and large, meat markets in the region welcome the new mobile meat facility. Processors indicated support for the project, particularly as they welcome the opportunity to source trained students from the CLC program for their own workforce.
- Identifying the optimal product mix for marketing will be a challenge.
- One of the largest challenges facing the facility is the establishment of the optimal product mix. In Central Minnesota, there appears to be a clear demand for custom processing for direct-to-consumer sales.
- There are multiple businesses already in the marketplace, which provides examples of both business model and pricing structures.
- Developing a custom product, however, may be more challenging. While demand likely exists and there are potential retail partners, establishing pricing and product mix will be more complicated. In addition, livestock growers in the region have not traditionally focused on quality, which may need to be addressed to capture higher price points.
- There is interest from producers, but there are no formal contracts in place currently.
- The livestock producer survey indicated a clear interest in selling livestock to the mobile meat facility. Interest, however, does not necessarily translate into intent.
- There is strong local and regional support for this project.
- There is clear support for the mobile meat facility on the local and regional levels. MFU has involved stakeholders and technical experts from the beginning of this project.
- The steering team includes local producers, Central Lakes College, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), Happy Dancing Turtle, the Region Five Development Commission, and Morrison County Community Development.
- In addition, the local meat locker and producer surveys show strong support for the project.
- Labor requirements are minimal but need to be addressed.
- The plan is for the facility to employ 15 workers. This includes a manager, an assistant manager, an office manager, and labor for direct processing.
- Workforce availability is an issue in Minnesota, which may make hiring for the mobile meat processing facility difficult.
- MFU has proposed wages above the market rate, which should help attract talent.
Survey reports
To better understand the industry in Central Minnesota, Extension surveyed local meat processing businesses and livestock producers to collect information regarding current livestock production and processing.
In addition to expanding meat processing capacity in the region, MFU is partnering with Central Lakes College to provide training related to the industry. The goal is to give students the skills to enter the butcher and meat-cutting trade and become staff (and potential owners) for local, small-to-medium-sized meat processors.
To better understand the industry in Central Minnesota, University of Minnesota Extension surveyed local meat processing businesses currently operating in the region. The survey’s primary purpose was to collect information regarding current livestock processing capacity and needs. A secondary goal was to gauge processors’ interest in the training program.
This report summarizes the results of the survey.
Key findings
Local processors were overwhelmingly supportive of the Minnesota Farmers Union’s (MFU) proposed mobile meat facility and its training opportunities.
- The meat processors view the mobile meat unit and its partnership with Central Lakes College as a way to gain a potential workforce.
- They indicated the bottlenecks from the COVID-19 pandemic are easing, but finding skilled labor remains an extreme concern.
Local processors also feel there is enough demand to support additional businesses in the market.
- They feel more businesses in this space can increase interest and demand for all meat processors and marketers.
- They also believe additional processors could encourage farmers to increase livestock production, as they have additional buyers for their animals.
- Processors also believe there is demand for locally sourced food items.
- They are willing to purchase items from the mobile meat facility to sell in their retail stores, rather than buying from other non-local companies.
- While there is demand for local foods, current meat processors find that local buyers prioritize quality as compared to local sourcing, so any items produced by the mobile meat unit would need to deliver on quality.
- Not many of the meat processors carry an inventory of hanging halves for retail sale.
- They indicate the extra time and effort to process is not feasible for their business models. But they are interested in purchasing from or partnering with the mobile meat facility.
- Current processors emphasized a need for quality on the hanging halves.
During the summer of 2022, University of Minnesota Extension surveyed livestock producers in Central Minnesota. The survey’s primary purpose was to collect information regarding current livestock production and processing in the region. The survey also gauged interest in expanding processing options, particularly through a potential mobile meat processing facility.
This report summarizes the results of the survey.
Key findings
Survey results showed several factors work in favor of a potential mobile meat processing facility in Central Minnesota.
- Producers demonstrated a strong interest in the potential for a new processing facility, the opportunity for custom processing, and new outlets for their meat.
- Producers reported strong demand for meat in the region.
- There are many small farms looking for convenient locations to process their meat.
- Producers indicated an interest in having a USDA-inspected facility in the region.
- Some farmers reported using local food outlets, and this could build upon the locally grown movement.
The survey also showed potential obstacles to the development of a new processing facility.
- Producers were mostly satisfied with their current livestock processors, which could make attracting them to a new processor challenging.
- Producers are aging. As they age, they are moving out of livestock production, which could decrease the availability of inputs in the future.
- Central Minnesota tends to have smaller livestock farms and fewer large producers, meaning it may take a broad depth of producers to source livestock consistently throughout the year.
Reviewed in 2023