S M A L L B U S I N E S S M AT T E R S MINNESOTA'S meat marvel For 107 years, McDonald's Meats has made quality a family tradition BY S T E V E K RU T | m e a t p o u l t r y @ s o s l a n d.c o m T 84 MEAT+ POULTRY | 04.21 | www.meatpoultry.com Photos: McDonald's Meats here are many ways one can measure the success of a small family-operated meat processing company. For those familiar with McDonald's Meats in Clear Lake, Minn., the yardsticks are manifold and telling. First off, the fact that this April the company celebrated its 107th anniversary is a rare achievement. The former dry goods general store (which once sold no meat) has blossomed into an award-winning manufacturer of specialty meat products. Add the expertise of fourth-generation managers Jennifer Dierkes and Travis McDonald and few would argue the company has an enviable recipe for business succcess. Dierkes still remembers getting off the school bus at age 14 to work in the meat shop. " Each morning, I would pack my work clothes into my backpack alongside all my school books to save me the time of being dropped off at home and having to ride my bike a mile to the shop, " she said. Dierkes did everything that was asked of her and fondly recalls one of the first jobs they were tasked with as kids was to hand out jerky samples to the cars sitting in backed up traffic on Highway 24, which borders the plant.http://www.meatpoultry.com