The CEO of Walker River Meat Processing is hoping to break ground on a new, 300,000-square-foor processing plant north of Yerlington, Nev., next spring. The facility, once it is completed, would process cattle, pigs, sheep and goats and could become the largest employer in Lyon County, reports Northern Nevada Business Weekly.

Vincent Estell, CEO, says that the facility will do all the processing, from initial harvest to custom packaging and shipping.

“We aren’t building a slaughter plant, we are building a meat-processing plant,” Estell says.

The plant will consist of three buildings located approximately 1,000 feet apart to avoid cross-contamination. Estell expects it to draw livestock from a 1,000-mile radius, from Canada to Texas and the entire Western United States. It will be constructed to USDA and European Union Food Resulations and Standards, allowing participating ranchers to sell their products internationally as well.

“That gives us the opportunity to market our products to any place in the world,” Estell says. “We are not held up trying to ship to foreign markets.” Contracts already are in the works to process more than 200,000 head of cattle beginning in 2013 when the plant comes on line.

When operating at full capacity, the plant is expected to process up to 2,000 head of cattle, 2,500 pigs and 1,000 sheep and goat each day. To get to those numbers, Estell says Walker River Meat Processing must build a network of meat producers, and it also will raise its own cattle and pigs for slaughter.

Source: Northern Nevada Business Weekly