Following is the latest press release done regarding our new processing division. We are excited to have processed 13 pigs using all natural no added nitrate/nitrite cures in the last week for two different fellow producers. It is great to help fellow producers bring to market the product they desire. We have sampled 10 different types of no msg, no preservative sausages. I can now eat processed pork without the guilt!
I have heard word that the January/February issue of “Indianapolis Dine” is about to be published featuring an article about the farm. Let us know if you see either write up. It is good to know who is able to see the information put forth. We are having so much fun expanding our business and appreciate your continued support!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2010
A new option for natural meats and processing services is now available in central Indiana. Erick and Jessica Smith have opened This Old Farm Meats and Processing, a division of This Old Farm, Inc. The processing business will specialize in local sustainable meat products such as nitrite/nitrate free cures for pork and msg free sausages, longer hang times for grassfed cattle, and specialized attention to those farms wishing to sell locally raised meats. They will toll process everything from beef down to poultry.
Erick and Jessica Smith, owners and operators of an 88 acre farm named This Old Farm, Inc come to the processing business as sustainable producers of meat and other farm goods. They found a lack of infrastructure through processing prevented them from growing their business. By solving this problem for themselves they can also help other small growers process and market their meats. Their farm offers all meat products, a CSA vegetable and fruit share, as well as goat and cow shares. Through the formation of farm alliances they are now positioned to supply locally produced meats and vegetables to your family or commercial business or institution. Local foods are their passion. Erick and Jessica Smith, parents of five young children, have won an impressive string of awards in the past year to make this project a success:
* USDA Value Added Producer Grant – funding for planning and a feasibility study on how best to implement their ideas.
* Purdue University’s Center for Entrepreneurship – Environmental I2P award for best new and marketable idea and business plan.
* USDA Small Business and Innovation Grant – funding for design of their facility including renewable energy technologies to make their products truly sustainable.
* Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)- a match of the SBIR grant funds utilized to push local distribution of food products ahead.
This Old Farm believes in providing good clean, food products from their farm or by assisting other local growers in processing and marketing their farm products. Erick Smith explained that before meats and vegetables reach people’s tables, they have to be processed. With the current large-scale farming system, just four major processors handle 80% of the beef in the country, he said. “Small farms run into a barrier” Smith said, when they try to get their products to the consumer. “They have to go to a licensed facility. This is a huge gap in the food system.” The Smiths worked to purchase (formerly R & M Meat Processors) and now renovate a licensed multi-use facility that can process meat (and vegetables in the near future) from their own and other small farms. The facility is located in Clinton County 5 miles from the Smith’s organic farm, which is in Montgomery County. The Smiths want their idea to serve as a catalyst to bring similar facilities to other areas across Indiana and the country. “It’s all about local,” Erick Smith said.
For further information, scheduling of processing, and ordering of local meats, or to speak directly with Jessica Smith, call (765) 324-2161; www.thisoldfarminc.com jessica@thisoldfarminc.com