A proposed multi-species custom meat processing facility will be located either in Cavalier, N.D., or Park River, N.D.
The Walsh/Pembina Livestock Processing Committee will provide details at informational meetings in the two communities Sept. 18. The Park River meeting is at 2 p.m. in the Park River City Auditorium. The Cavalier meeting is set for 7 p.m. in the Pembina County Emergency Management Office at the Pembina County Courthouse.
The committee, which consists of local livestock producers and community leaders, was formed in early 2013 to explore the feasibility of such a facility.
The $1.7 million plant, which organizers hope to open in the fall of 2015, is projected to process about 20 animals per week, including cattle and hogs, along with some elk, bison and lamb, all provided by area producers.
The facility is projected to employ six to nine workers at about $17 per hour, plus benefits, according to Julius Wangler, a Walsh County livestock producer and committee member. Wangler retired last year as executive director of the Red River Regional Council, an economic development group.
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"The business plan indicates it will do a majority of work custom slaughtering," he said.
The informational meetings will include the following presentations:
•Keith DeHaan, a consultant with Food and Livestock Processing Inc., on the results of a comprehensive business plan for the proposed business.
•Andrew Sorbo, an attorney with the organization, a limited liability corporation that has been formed for the business.
•Bank of North Dakota representative, who will discuss the Bank of North Dakota Ag PACE Program.
•Announcement of the project's tentative location.
The proposed facility also likely will offer some retail sales of its products, including sausage, bacon, ham and possibly meat packages.
It also is possible that the company would package and market some of its products for retail sales in area grocery stores, he said.
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"People want to know where the product comes from, what it is fed," he said. "There's a growing market for that."
