Grand opening of Odessa's newest business

Odessa’s newest business opened its doors to the public last week Thursday when the Cattle Producers of Washington (CPoW) held the grand opening of the Livestock Processors Cooperative Association (LPCA) plant at the Odessa Industrial Park. The ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. was attended by a large crowd of well-wishers, interested community members and local, county and state officials who had a hand in seeing the construction of the plant come to fruition.

Willard Wolf, current president of the LPCA board of directors, cut the ribbon as other board members looked on. Visitors sat on benches provided by the Odessa Community Center or stood to view the proceedings. Cookies and beverages were provided in addition to cakes made especially for the occasion.

Prior to and after the ribbon-cutting, board members conducted tours of the plant, leading groups of up to about 20 persons at a time through the different processing areas. The plant is set up to process four different kinds of meat-producing animals: swine, beef, goats and sheep. Currently, the co-op consists of all beef producers except for one goat producer (Sue Lani and Craig Madsen of Edwall).

The plant has a fairly high level of automation, making it possible for the current four-person crew to handle the processing that has so far been done on a limited basis. Overhead conveyer systems allow carcasses to be moved from one processing area to the next, with “auto-drop” hooks that make offloading a simple task. Floor-based tracks carry carts filled with offal and assorted other waste products to different areas of the plant, where they are readied for shipment to other processors (hides to a tannery, for example). Very little waste is produced.

The plant is still looking to hire at least two more meat cutters in the very near future. Ultimately, at full capacity, the plant expects to employ about 13.

Plant personnel

Tally Ross: Right now the plant is operating with just four employees. Tally Ross, originally from Jackson Hole, Wyo., attended the University of Idaho. While still in school, she worked in the school’s meat lab, then after graduation spent four years with a beef processor in Toppenish. She had thoughts of returning to Wyoming to take over the family ranching operation of 350 head of cattle at some point, but when the opportunity arose to manage the Odessa plant, she said she couldn’t refuse. She is in her twenties and is the general manager. She has rented a piece of property in Irby where she keeps horses and other animals.

Dillon Summers hails from Driggs in southeast Idaho and also attended the U of I. He worked at a meat processing facility for seven years, rising to a management position. At LPCA, he is the production supervisor. He is 26 and single. He lives in Odessa in a mobile home at present.

Sue Nichols lives between Odessa, Ritzville and Lind on several acres where she enjoys gardening and the quiet life. She has been working as the plant’s bookkeeper for several months during the planning and startup phases of the project.

Tyler Shaw, a hometown Odessa boy, has just been hired as the plant’s newest employee. His experience in helping area farmers with butchering and in handling his own meat processing as a hunter helped give him the needed experience to work at the plant. Shaw graduated from Odessa High School in 2008, then went to the North Dakota shale-oil fields for three years before returning home a bit burned out with the stress of long work days and being away from friends and family. Since returning, he has held odd jobs prior to landing the position at LPCA. Shaw is engaged to Nicole Roller of Odessa, and a wedding is planned for next year.

History

The effort to get the plant up and running dates back to July of 2009, when Wade and Teresa King of Coulee City began the push to get such a facility. According to Willard Wolf, CPoW was having meat butchered, processed and supplied to 12 restaurants and one grocery store, but they wanted more control over quality and sources. People were beginning to want to know where their food was coming from. Only a local facility could ensure that meat could be tracked from pasture to plate.

Members of the CPoW board contacted Whitworth University and worked with a group of students to create a business plan. The business plan won a national award for the students.

Wolf said ranchers were finding that the availability of federal inspectors was dwindling. The next generation of ranchers was also finding it difficult to make a living. CPoW wanted to help young farmers and ranchers return to their family operations. It was their hope that a smaller, local facility would also give consumers the transparency they were requesting when it came to their food.

Some of our readers may have wondered why the address of the facility is on “Stein Road” within the industrial park. Odessa Public Development Authority (OPDA) president Clark Kagele told the grand-opening crowd about the efforts of former Odessa resident and former proprietor of Voise Sausage by Stein’s Quest, John Stein, now of Spokane, to create the industrial park. While he lived and worked in Odessa, Stein was an avid supporter of the town and its business community. His work on the industrial park and his support for the OPDA led to several new businesses opening in Odessa and a revival of the town’s economy. Stein attended the grand opening of the new facility and said he was happy to see the latest addition come to the industrial park.

Lincoln County’s commissioners Scott Hutsell, Rob Coffman and Mark Stedman attended the event, along with Odessa mayor Doug Plinski and state representative Judy Warnick of Moses Lake.