On June 17th, Flower Hill Institute's Regional Director of Technical Assistance Chris Roper made a site visit to Barnsdall Meat Processing in Barnsdall, Oklahoma which made him stop and reflect on how fortunate we are after seeing the damage left from two deadly tornadoes that hit the small community within a five week period.
On May 6th, Mr. Eddie Spears was in his processing facility cutting meat, just like any other work day, when he heard a noise outside. He peaked out the door to see what was happening and could see a tornado coming off of a hill south of town- heading right toward him. He told his workers, "We are in trouble." They braced as best they could inside the meat processing facility as the tornado hit them head on. The roof was torn off and blocks were falling on them and all around. At some point, his stock trailer and hay baler got picked up and blew over their heads. They were later found several miles away.
Mr. Spears and his wife have lost their home, meat processing facility, and all the custom hay equipment that they used to make a supplemental income but are thankful to have survived the EF-4 tornado that day. Sadly, both his next door neighbor and another neighbor to the south of the plant were killed in the tornado. Friends and family have pulled together to loan the Spears family a vehicle to drive and a travel trailer to live in while they sort through the rubble left behind, searching for missing machinery and cattle. So far, the insurance company has only offered the family $57,000 to rebuild the meat processing business and are not wanting to cover the home and vehicles that were lost. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from this disaster.
Since 2022, the MPPTA team has assisted processors after hurricanes, fires, and other natural disasters in an effort to support a more resilient meat and poultry supply chain. To submit a request for technical assistance, click here.
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Please note: The Meat and Poultry Processing Technical Assistance (MPPTA) Program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. The MPPTA Project Coordinators do not offer or provide direct contractor services or financial capital, grant writing, or project management services, nor does the voluntary use of MPPTA guarantee the success of a grant application or the grant-funded project.