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Flower Hill Institute

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Rewilding
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MPPTA Blog

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MPPTA Client Stories

Featured
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May 28, 2025
Community Rallies Behind Processing Project
May 28, 2025

Sometimes, it takes a village to expand a meat processing enterprise.

That was evident recently in the northwestern Colorado town of Craig as Deborah Fitch of Fitch Ranch Artisan Meats guided the mayor, city council members, economic development officials, lenders, and builders through the processing plant she and her husband, Cam, have steadily grown since purchasing it in 2022.

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May 28, 2025
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Apr 8, 2025
From Lawn Mowers to Pet Products, Beechy’s Custom Meats Cuts Through Challenges
Apr 8, 2025

How do lawn mower repair, meat processing and pet product manufacturing all fit together?

Just ask Vernon Beechy of Beechy’s Custom Meats in Shipshewana, Indiana.

Read More →
Apr 8, 2025
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Jul 12, 2024
Surviving the Storm: The Story of Barnsdall Meat Processing
Jul 12, 2024

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. 

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Jul 12, 2024

MPPTA Client Spotlights

Featured
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May 7, 2025
A recent site visit to southern Indiana revealed amazing progress for Joshua Training Center
May 7, 2025

In March, Flowerhill Institute made a site visit to the Joshua Training Center located in Pike County, Indiana.  This visit was special: it was almost the two-year anniversary of the initial outreach and connection between Flowerhill Institute and the Joshua Training Center. 

Read More →
May 7, 2025
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Feb 10, 2025
‘Good Meat’ Has a Great Future at The Spotted Trotter
Feb 10, 2025

Perhaps Kevin Ouzts should be known as The Meat Doctor.

After all, he can cure nearly any type of meat…into mouth-watering slices of prosciutto, bresaola, salami, and more.

Kevin and his wife Megan own and operate The Spotted Trotter Charcuterie, a Production and Retail facility in Edgewood, GA. Kevin works daily to perfect his craft of transforming pork, beef, chicken, and duck into products steeped in old-world tradition but infused with local ingredients, which helped them to coin and trademark the phrase, New American Charcuterie™.   

Read More →
Feb 10, 2025
A Truly Grounded Approach to Meat Processing
Nov 26, 2024
A Truly Grounded Approach to Meat Processing
Nov 26, 2024

One of the newest developments in meat processing is a thousand years old.

Field harvesting is steadily growing in popularity as producers and processors alike recognize this method's advantages in terms of humane animal handling and meat quality. For many ranchers, field harvesting is integral to a “one bad day” approach to animal husbandry… providing the animal with a quality, pasture-raised life, followed by one bad day at harvest time.

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Nov 26, 2024

MPPTA Partner Spotlights

Featured
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Jan 28, 2025
Move Over Craft Brew, Here Comes Offal
Jan 28, 2025

If you can’t eat it, wear it.

Or, put it on your skin.

Or, feed it to your companion animals.

That was the message from the most recent Offal Party, hosted by Colorado State University’s Agriculture Innovation Center on January 25th during the National Western Stock Show in Denver.

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Jan 28, 2025
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Jun 17, 2024
Furry Friends are Part of the Future for Smaller Processors
Jun 17, 2024

The evolving humanization of pets creates significant opportunities for smaller meat and poultry processors…if we can create a new supply chain model to connect those processors with pet product brands catering to the demand of today’s “pet parents.”

Read More →
Jun 17, 2024
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Nov 29, 2023
16th Annual Meeting & Cattle Producer’s Forum
Nov 29, 2023

Meet independent producers and processors from across the country at the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association’s 16th Annual Meeting this December 1-2 at the Embassy Suites in Fort Worth! You won’t want to miss keynote addresses from USDA Undersecretary for Marketing & Regulatory Programs Jenny Moffit, USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux, and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Read More →
Nov 29, 2023

MPPTA Technical Support

Featured
Collaboration is Key for Critical Mass
Mar 13, 2025
Collaboration is Key for Critical Mass
Mar 13, 2025

That’s a high hurdle for many smaller processors who want to market their products into a regional grocery or restaurant chain or capture value for offal ingredients and hides.

Even smaller grocery chains require a relatively high volume of meat and poultry on a year-round basis to keep their cases stocked and their customers happy. That’s simply beyond the capacity of a smaller processor.

But what if…

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Mar 13, 2025
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Feb 21, 2025
Smaller Processors Make the Grade with New Remote Service
Feb 21, 2025

Smaller meat processing plants across the country are surviving and profiting by producing, and marketing products differentiated from the standard items carried in the typical retail meat case. Grassfed, regenerative, organic, humanely raised, and other claims-verified products are helping these processors stand apart.

Read More →
Feb 21, 2025
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Jan 6, 2025
Certified Organic Meat Processing: A Hidden Opportunity
Jan 6, 2025

Differentiation is key to the success of smaller meat and poultry processors. After all, the big chains can produce generic bricks of ground beef and steaks cheaper than any mom-and-pop processor in the country.

However, a growing segment of consumers want something better than a generic cut of meat. A slew of ongoing consumer studies shows that shoppers increasingly value meat and poultry sourced locally from producers dedicated to environmental stewardship and humane animal husbandry.

Read More →
Jan 6, 2025
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