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Supply Shortages Hinder Organic Sausage Company’s Growth

Eric Gutknecht grew up elbows deep in sausage making. His parents immigrated to Colorado from Switzerland in the 1970s, bringing with them two generations of sausage-making experience.

Eric was three years old when his parents joined a Denver sausage business founded by another Swiss immigrant and purchased the company in the 1980s. Eric notes, “Packing sausage was cheaper than daycare,” so he spent his days learning the trade at his parents’ elbows.

Consumer Demand a Steady Beacon Amid Economic Uncertainty

The only thing certain for smaller meat and poultry processors is uncertainty.

As noted by Drs. Marty Matlock of the University of Arkansas and Darrell Peel of Oklahoma State University in a Flower Hill Institute online roundtable, processors are being buffeted by increasing equipment and construction costs, workforce uncertainty, extremely tight cattle supplies, and other factors.