Overton County’s 70 Acres Butchery has been awarded a new state Ag Track grant to build a new meat processing facility.
70 Acres Butchery Director of Operations Hank Walker said the estimated 20,000 square-foot facility will be located just off Highway 111 near Sulphur Road. Walker said the facility will play a key role in strengthening both the local economy and the agriculture industry. Walker said cattle farmers have long needed access to a nearby meat processing facility.
“The transport cost alone is already, you know, really, really picking at their bottom line,” Walker said. “So, you know, I think that kind of directly ties into what, you know, we are hoping to do with our local economy and reducing those costs and wait times.”
Walker said the facility will feature state-of-the-art meat processing equipment and include a retail store where customers can buy and enjoy meat from local cattle farmers. He added that the grant will cover up to 25 percent of the project’s cost, with groundbreaking expected within the next few months.
“We are under contract for a plot of land that we are hoping to close on in the next couple of weeks,” Walker said. “We have been in constant conversations with the USDA team over the last year and just planning the buildout itself.”
Walker said the project was heavily dependent on receiving the funding for it to follow through. Walker said 70 Acres Butchery was thrilled to hear the news that they received the grant.
“This is essentially a ground-up project, so getting the funding and getting the financing in place is a little bit trickier because you know there is a higher level of risk with ground-up projects and things like that,” Walker said. “So knowing that we have the support of the state and the Department of Agriculture to kind assist us along the way, again we were just thrilled to get that approval.”
Walker said the new facility will create an estimated 20 jobs in Overton County.