Industry Excellence Award GRAHAMS WORK TO PROMOTE, GROW CAPACITY OF OHIO’S MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS

Jamie Graham had a dilemma. The buying local movement was starting to gain traction and his branded beef product was making a name for itself in Gallia County. The next logical step was to expand but doing so would cause him to compete with local cattle producers. He didn’t want to do that because they weren’t just competitors but customers at his meat processing plant, R&C Packing and Custom Butchering, Inc.

“Our goal originally was to sell for retail or have our own restaurant but we saw we needed to make a choice because local restaurants and grocery stores only have so much shelf space,” he said. “We decided to discontinue our branded product and focus on our customers and grow the processing plant.”

In 2004 Jamie had purchased the small meat processing plant with money he had saved while working as a state meat inspector for five years. It was the perfect match for Jamie because of the knowledge he had gained as a meat inspector and it was near where he grew up raising crops, beef cattle and hogs in Bidwell. His family had been farming for more than 200 years, and Jamie was determined to continue the family tradition.

The plant, which was originally designed to harvest 20 animals a week, is today processing just over 100 animals weekly. About 60 percent are hogs and 40 percent cattle with many customers traveling two to three hours to the plant. Typically, he’s booked a year out – before some animals are even born. It’s an example of the continuing problem Ohio has with meat processing capacity. That’s why Jamie has been actively involved with the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) and Ohio Farm Bureau in educating policymakers and the public on how the lack of sufficient meat processing plants impacts local producers and consumers. He’s also served as chairman of the Ohio Beef Council in helping promote beef and the cattle industry with consumers.

These efforts are why Jamie and his wife Amy, who oversees R&C Packing’s day-to-day operations, are recipients of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Industry Excellence award, which honors those who have worked for a number of years for the betterment of Ohio’s beef industry.

“I’ve worked with OCA directly on the state’s meat processing expansion program and on issues that have come up for us and the industry,” he said.

“The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association really stands up for the beef industry. Their legislative support is outstanding and they’ve been tremendous in watching out for us and letting us know what’s going on.”

Ironically, Jamie said that while growing up he was told he probably couldn’t make a living in agriculture, which is why he became a meat inspector in 1999. He never dreamed at the time that the knowledge he gained from that job would be instrumental in R&C Packing becoming the first company in Ohio to process all types of meat under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program. Under CIS, state-inspected plants can operate as federally-inspected facilities and sell their products anywhere in the continental U.S. Without CIS, a state-inspected plant is limited to sales within its own state.

“The biggest thing we like to hang our hat on is that we’re able to add value to our customers’ products. Being CIS has allowed our customers to have more marketing opportunities. Some producers are just 5-10 miles from the Ohio River and through us they can sell in nearby West Virginia or Kentucky,” Jamie said, noting that the company also provides branded labeling of customers’ products and offers retail sales of local meat, including its own. Jamie and his father and brother raise about 35-40 cows and background some calves as well as grow crops and hay. Jamie works full time for United Producers, Inc. where he’s in charge of livestock marketing at its Gallipolis facility.

Over the years, the Grahams have reconfigured R&C Packing the best they could to make it more efficient and added storage space to increase capacity but it still wasn’t nearly enough. Plans to build a new meat processing plant were nearly derailed by an increase in construction costs but they’re back on track after the Grahams recently received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP).

“The ODA program is good for the industry because it provides resources for expansion. The quickest growth we’ll see is from those who are already in operation because they already have the knowledge and aren’t just starting up,” he said.

The couple hope to start construction in the spring on the new facility. Plans are to convert the current plant into a smokehouse. While the Grahams are excited about their new venture, they’re also understandably a bit nervous about the amount of debt they’ll take on and challenges finding enough reliable and skilled labor.

“Having the new facility will give us better opportunities for dealing with labor challenges because if we don’t have enough people to harvest, we could shift to processing,” he said. “The last couple of years during the pandemic have been really trying. We’re fortunate that we’ve got a good core staff and that we’ve been able to keep our costs as low as possible so they’re not passed along to the customer.”

Receiving OCA’s Industry Excellence award was a surprise for the couple.

“It was very humbling,” Jamie said.

“Being involved in the beef industry and the Ohio Cattlemen’s, I’ve met a lot of good people I look up to and many of them have helped pave the way to where we are today. You don’t get this done without all the others.”

At the end of the day, Jamie can’t help but marvel over the fact that he’s about to build a multi-million dollar meat processing plant and is helping grow an industry that he loves.

“I was born and raised to do this. When I’m not doing it, it feels like something is missing,” he said. “I feel more calm and secure when cattle are around the house. There’s a certain gratification when you move a good product from hoof to plate. Doing it well is the end goal that drives you.”