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CapitalPress.com
Friday, December 17, 2021
People & Places
Meat plant owner leads with automation
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
Established 1928
CANBY, Ore. — Since
purchasing a small meat plant
in 2017, Ben Meyer, 44, has
quadrupled the facility’s pro-
duction volume, improved
humane livestock handling
and saved on labor expenses.
His secret? Technology.
Rebecca Thistlethwaite,
director of the Niche Meat
Processor Assistance Net-
work, said Meyer’s plant has
automated in ways that are
“innovative and important.”
Small processors often
operate with little high-effi-
ciency technology or auto-
mation. It doesn’t help, This-
tlethwaite said, that only a
few manufacturers — includ-
ing UltraSource LLC, Bunzl
and Reiser — offer equip-
ment tailored to small meat
plants.
But Meyer hasn’t let
those obstacles stop him
from automating.
His foray into meat pro-
cessing began in the restau-
rant industry as a chef and
entrepreneur.
Several years ago, while
working in Portland’s Old
Salt Marketplace, a restau-
rant, butcher shop and deli,
Meyer noticed that small,
independent meat shops
were losing capacity, drop-
ping federal inspection sta-
tus or closing. He wondered
if he could do something
about it.
Along came a chef friend,
James “Jimmy” Serlin, who
told Meyer about a meat
plant in Canby whose own-
ers wanted to retire.
The plant, Marks Meat
Inc., had been built in 1963.
Its equipment was “really
archaic,” said Thistlethwaite
— but it was a place to start.
Meyer and Serlin volun-
teered at the plant to learn the
ropes, then bought the facil-
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher
Western
Innovator
BEN MEYER
Age: 44
Hometown: Fort Wayne,
Indiana
Occupation: owner and
chief operations officer
of Marks Meat Inc. and
Revel Meat Co.
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
An employee at Marks Meat Inc. in Canby, Ore., uses a saw blade to slice meat.
ity in 2017. They kept the
original name, Marks Meat,
for the building, and added a
brand name: Revel Meat Co.
Today, under USDA
inspection, the company also
slaughters for up to 60 local
ranches annually.
When Meyer bought the
facility, he said, it processed
five to eight beef cattle and
30 to 35 sheep weekly. Since
making upgrades, Meyer’s
team has boosted weekly
production to 20 to 24 cat-
tle, 40 to 48 pigs and 40 to
70 sheep.
The
first
efficien-
cy-boosting installation was
a $105,000 rollstock pack-
aging machine manufac-
tured by UltraSource. Pre-
viously, each piece of meat
had to be individually vac-
uum-sealed. The rollstock
machine, working at 16
times the speed of the previ-
ous machine, can automati-
cally package several pieces
at once.
“It’s
cleaner-looking,
more efficient,” said Meyer.
The second investment
was in two scales with
built-in label-makers, for
$14,000 and $19,000.
Additionally, the com-
pany invested in a more effi-
cient saw.
The plant also spent
$52,000 on an Ultra-
Source hog scalder and
de-hairer. The old device
could handle one pig every
10 to 12 minutes. The new
machine handles one every
3.5 minutes.
Meyer said his most
important innovation has
been in humane livestock
handling.
Before an animal is
slaughtered, it must be
stunned with a “knocking
device” such as a hand-held
captive bolt gun.
According to USDA’s
Food Safety and Inspec-
tion Service, one of the
most common enforcement
actions against meat plants is
ineffective restraint or stun-
ning of livestock — mean-
ing an animal isn’t knocked
Family: Windsor Meyer,
wife, and Wendell Myer,
9-year-old son
CONNECT WITH
BEN MEYER
Meyer encourages other
small meat plant owners
to reach out to him at
ben@revelmeatco.com
if they would like advice
or want to share ideas
to improve the overall
industry.
Anne Long ................. Advertising Director
Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor
Samantha Stinnett .....Circulation Manager
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Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Ben Meyer, owner and
chief operations officer of
Marks Meat Inc. and Revel
Meat Co.
out on the first attempt.
Small meat plants often
are temporarily or perma-
nently shut down due to
failed knocks, and Meyer’s
is no exception. In 2017, he
had a “mis-knock” resulting
in a seven-week shutdown.
To prevent future mis-
knocks, he installed a
$10,000 hydraulic cat-
tle headgate, smaller head-
gates for sheep and pigs
and bought three additional
knocking devices in case the
first fails.
“There’s no ‘kind of
doing it.’ You have to do this
right,” he said. “The roll-
stock machine and other
equipment are flashy, but
things like this are basic.”
Marks Meat isn’t done
upgrading. Meyer plans to
use a USDA grant to imple-
ment better traceability, and
in the next few years, he
also plans to build a second
facility to increase process-
ing capacity 250%, allow-
ing him to work with more
farmers and ranchers.
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To Place Classified Ads
Unique farm grows food, community
By ALIYA HALL
For the Capital Press
OREGON CITY — Gabriella
Tordova always wanted to live on the
land. She said she has a journal entry
from 30 years ago in which she said
her dream was to have land where
she could grow her own food.
“This was a dream I always had,”
she said.
Tordova owns Three Goats Farm
in Oregon City that has an acre for
farming, 64 fruit trees and 35 acres
of forest. She is joined by farmers
Levi Barbary, Nicholas Gonzales and
Sasha Langesfeld.
The farm practices regenerative
agriculture and puts an emphasis on
building community. The farm is set
up for people who want to join as
full-time residents, but it also offers
the option for people to be involved
in the farm and community without
having to live there.
They raise ducks, chickens, pigs
and geese as well as grow a variety
of produce.
“It kind of happened starting
with us wanting to take care of our-
selves and then helping other people
through selling to friends,” Tordova
said.
Three Goats Farm is in its fifth
year and sells its products through
community supported agriculture —
known as a CSA — and farmers mar-
kets. They also offer market shares,
Aliya Hall/For the Capital Press
From left, Nicholas Gonzales, Sasha Langesfeld, Levi Barbary and Ga-
briella Tordova are the farmers of Three Goats Farm in Oregon City.
They have created a multi-generational living situation that focuses
on building community.
pork shares and a ferment club.
“We’re pretty much doing every-
thing,” Barbary said. “(Customers)
have been really into it and I think
they appreciate the single source for
things.”
He added that on the last day of
the farmers market someone bought
a jar of sauerkraut and called them to
say that he “had to be on our CSA,”
he said.
Building their soil is a crucial part
of their farming practices, Barbary
said.
They utilize insect netting, stale
seed beds, crop rotation, drip irriga-
tion and variety selection to minimize
weeds, insects and fungus as well as
maximize their production. Stale
seed beds is a technique in which
weed seeds are allowed to germinate
and then are killed before the crop is
planted.
One of the big goals for the future
is to continue building the commu-
nity through farming. Tordova said
there is a community farming pro-
gram near Vancouver, B.C., in which
people from the city participate on
the farm on weekends.
“We just hope to attract more peo-
ple to join us,” she said, adding that
they’ve been doing it informally with
friends and other volunteers. “But we
want to make it more formalized …
and be a bridge between people in the
city so they can have more experience
of where their food comes from.”
Tordova said when she bought
the property the plan was to create
a multi-generational living situation.
As more families have joined the
farm, they bought the house neigh-
boring the property.
One of the challenges the farm
faces is limited water rights, but Tor-
dova said in the future they might
acquire an adjacent piece of land that
has more water rights. Their property
also allows room for expansion in the
forest.
“There’s all kinds of possibilities,
like mushroom farming and more
grazing, because that’s not water
dependent,” she said.
Although the farm didn’t face
much impact from the COVID pan-
demic, Tordova said she hopes that it
proves that “this way of life is resil-
ient and will be a good option for
people....
“Hard work isn’t what is harmful
for people,” she said. “It’s work that
has no meaning or work where peo-
ple don’t feel empowered or auton-
omous. That’s the reward here, get-
ting to explore new things all the
time.”
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Submit upcoming ag-related
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press.com.
SUNDAY-WEDNESDAY
DEC. 19-22
American Sheep Industry
Association Annual Conven-
tion: Sheraton San Diego Hotel and
Marina. The event will include dis-
cussions on animal health, genet-
ics, research, policy and legislation.
Website: http://www.sheepusa.org
Ecofarm Conference (online
and in person): Asilomar State
Beach and Conference Cen-
ter, Pacific Grove, Calif. The event
gathers agriculturalists work-
ing to advance ecological, equita-
ble farms and food systems. Orga-
nizers are planning an in-person
gathering that will accommodate
evolving COVID-19 safety precau-
tions with some virtual content to
be presented as well. Join EcoFarm
for visionary keynote speakers,
skill-building workshops, pre-con-
ference events, tented expo, seed
swaps, networking, and farm tours.
Website: https://seedalliance.org/
FRIDAY- WEDNESDAY
JAN. 7-12
American Farm Bureau Con-
vention: Georgia World Congress
Center, 285 Andrew Young Interna-
tional Blvd., Atlanta, Ga. This is an
opportunity to help set the agenda
for the leading voice of agricul-
ture in Washington, D.C., and much
more. Participate in educational
workshops to advance your lead-
ership skills, expand your business
acumen and gain insight into the
trends and realities impacting food
production. Website: https://www.
fb.org/events/afbf-convention/
WEDNESDAY-
FRIDAY
JAN. 12-14
Northwest Agricultural Show:
Oregon State Fair and Exposition
Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem.
Join us at the fairgrounds for a
good ol’ fashioned farm show. We’ll
also have a full slate of exhibitors,
presentations, seminars and events.
Website: https://northwestagshow.
com/
SUNDAY-TUESDAY
JAN. 16-18
NFU Women’s Conference:
Holiday Inn and Suites Nashville
Downtown Convention Center. Top-
ics will include business manage-
ment, leadership, community build-
ing and more. Website: https://nfu.
org/womensconference/
TUESDAY-
WEDNESDAY
JAN. 18-19
The VISION Conference
2022: Renaissance Phoenix Glen-
dale Hotel and Spa, Glendale, Ariz.
The conference engages leaders
throughout agricultural technol-
ogy to address the dynamic recent
advances in technology, systems
and platforms enabling intercon-
nected solutions from farm to retail.
Website: http://www.thevisioncon-
ference.com
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WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY
JAN. 19-20
TUESDAY-THURSDAY
FEB. 8-10
2022 Northwest Hay Expo:
Three Rivers Convention Center,
Kennewick, Wash. Sponsored by
the Washington State Hay Growers
Association, this is a one-stop infor-
mation center for all things hay.
Website: www.wa-hay.org
World Ag Expo: 9 a.m. Interna-
tional Agri-Center, 4500 S. Laspina
St., Tulare, Calif. One of the world’s
largest ag shows returns this year to
Tulare, Calif. With hundreds of exhib-
itors, presentations, seminars and
other events, the World Ag Expo
attracts attendees from around the
nation — and the world. Website:
http://www.WorldAgExpo.org
SUNDAY-WEDNESDAY
JAN. 23-26
Dairy Forum 2022: J.W. Mar-
riott Desert Springs Resort & Spa,
Palm Desert, Calif. Presented by
International Dairy Foods Associa-
tion, the forum will feature what’s
new, now and next for dairy foods.
Website: www.idfa.org
TUESDAY-THURSDAY
FEB. 1-3
Cattle Industry Convention &
NCBA Trade Show: George R. Brown
Convention Center, Houston, Texas.
The convention will include indus-
try speakers and educational events.
Website: http://www.ncba.org
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
FEB. 9-12
Organic Seed Growers Con-
ference: Oregon State University
Campus. The Organic Seed Grow-
ers Conference is the largest event
focused solely on organic seed in
North America, bringing together
hundreds of farmers, plant breed-
ers, researchers, certifiers, food com-
panies, seed companies, and others
from across the U.S. and around the
world. Farm tours and short courses
are held prior to the full two-day
conference. Website: https://seedal-
liance.org/
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Index
Markets .................................................12
Opinion ...................................................6
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