Meat&Poultry - February 2011 - 61

it did four years ago. He reported a revenue drop from just under $2 million in 2009 to just over $1 million in 2010, but offers that it was a deliberate decision to get away from a wholesale-oriented business model and to focus primarily on custom work. With custom work, the animals are not owned by the plant and the revenue numbers don’t tell the actual story. “The decision to forego wholesale revenues has freed up processing capacity,” he continued. “This allowed a 35 percent increase in custom work, which now represents half of the plant’s operation, leaving 30 percent retail and 15 percent wholesale business volume.

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Focusing on strengths
“We wanted to focus on what we do best and for 2011,” says Cloud. “We see the local food movement as here to stay. It has actually simplified our HACCP programs and

“The decision to forego wholesale revenues has freed up processing capacity... We wanted to focus on what we do best and for 2011.”
we will be working on a test-and-hold for raw ground and raw, not-ground products this year. It will involve more testing. Our greatest concern is a fear of the unknown, but we are handling producer-owned livestock from up to 150 miles away because there are fewer plants available to do that work.” Cloud feels strongly that getting qualified workers remains his biggest challenge in the coming months. The workers he seeks need to be physically fit to do the lifting, pulling and other tasks the job demands. “I’m serious when I say obesity and training are major issues,” he adds. “If I was in the housing industry, I could put an ad in the paper and get hundreds of applicants for nearly every skill area. When I put out an ad for meat plant work, I get a few people with some poultry plant experience, but the others are from the construction industry. They have to be trained. Those who aren’t strong just can’t take it and leave. The obese are more likely to have heart attacks and strokes and are often in poor health. And while we can train them, their health risks cost time and money. “We have 20 employees, but some of the people we’ve needed to replace have experience but are aging,” he says. “One went to the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo, which closed in the 1960’s. There are few places around that teach meat-cutting skills, including vo-tech and trade schools. That is a sorely needed program for the small plant operator.”

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Meat&Poultry - February 2011

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