Valley Natural Foods will invest $2 million to open Valley Natural Meats, a wholesale meat processing facility in Northfield, Minn. The facility will feature a 4,400-square-foot space for MDA- and organic-certified meat processing and a 4,000-square-foot holding barn. It will also produce specialty, smoked and cured meats, jerky, hams and sausages. The plant will be different from the company’s other facilities because it will process naturally and humanely raised, grass and organic-grain fed, and locally produced meats.
Operations will begin later in 2016, starting with cattle and hog processing. Phase two operations are planned for 2017 and will add lamb and goat processing and include USDA-certification for sales outside of Minnesota. Processing of deer and bison is planned for 2018.
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