“You have to meet people where they're at.”

That's common advice given to professionals wanting to develop strong relationships with clients. It generally refers to the importance of respecting the values, economic situation and beliefs of people you assist.

On October 15th Flower Hill Institute was proud to be a part of the grand opening celebration for Integrity Prime Meats near Buffalo, MO.  Flower Hill Institute has been honored to work with Integrity Prime Meats for over a year during the purchase and upgrades of this existing meat processing facility. 

Mainland U.S. tourists generally view the U.S. Virgin Islands as tropical getaways featuring emerald blue bays rimmed with soft, sandy beaches perfect for soaking in the sun while enjoying a fruity umbrella drink.  Port towns where cruise ships dock ebb and flow with tourists looking for local cuisine, jewelry, and souvenirs.

Beyond the tourist enclaves, though, are farms and villages populated by friendly farmers with gritty determination working to ease the islands' severe dependence on imported food to feed their families and their local communities.

Q. What do Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, Margo Price, and Flower Hill Institute have in common?

A. They will all be participating in the 41st annual Farm Aid Festival in Virginia Beach, VA, this Saturday, September 26.

Willie, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young launched Farm Aid in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois, to raise funds to support family farms going bankrupt in droves at the height of what is still known as the “Farm Crisis”. They hoped it would be a one-time event. The need in Rural America persisted, so Farm Aid persevered.

Large packing plants seem to be falling like dominoes across rural America. 

In recent months, Tyson Foods has closed a plant in Nebraska, reduced a Texas facility to one shift, announced the closure of another plant in Illinois and the elimination of case-ready operations in Utah, and put a Washington state plant up for sale. Meanwhile, JBS is eliminating slaughter operations at a facility it owns in Pennsylvania.

Cattle ranchers and feeders supplying those plants now must figure out where they can feasibly ship their animals for harvest.

Johnston’s Meat Market is more than just a butcher shop and retail store in Monticello, Florida: It is a proud local institution with a century-long legacy. 

One hundred years ago, Felix and Alice Johnston founded the market when most families lacked refrigeration. Johnston’s offered meat locker rentals to local residents and quickly became a trusted source for locally produced meat. For more than 98 years, three generations of the Johnston family carefully managed and grew the business, serving beef, lamb, and goat producers throughout a three-state region with USDA-inspected processing.

The mood was festive on August 5th as local dignitaries, cooperative development leaders, USDA’s State Rural Development Director, and Flower Hill Institute's Regional Directors joined Puerto Rican farmers beneath two tents offering shade from the searing sun on a hilltop in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

The occasion: the grand reopening of the Puerto Rico Meat Processing Center, acquired earlier this year by Cooperativa de Porcicultores de Puerto Rico, a cooperative owned by more than 70 hog producers in the region.

Dave Carter, regional TA provider director for Flower Hill Institute's USDA Meat & Poultry Processing Technical Assistance program, discusses current efforts to support small processors at the American Association of Meat Processors annual meeting in Milwaukee, WI.