USDAFoodSupplyChain

Stagecoach Travels the Tallow Trail

Beef tallow is only the latest stop on the trail that Stagecoach Meats in Wiggins, CO, has traveled over the past half-decade.

The journey began in 2020, when Kris and Jessica Musgrave and their friends Stacy and Travis Cowan purchased a custom exempt plant in the small northeastern Colorado town to process cattle that the Musgraves raised on their nearby ranch. As the Covid-19 pandemic-related disruption swept through the beef industry, the four soon recognized the need for a USDA-inspected facility in their area.

Community Rallies Behind Processing Project

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.