Watson farms meat processing & market is a slaughter, processing, and meat retail operation located incouncil hill, oklahoma, a rural food desert that borders the chickasaw nation

Watson Farms Meat Processing & Market, LLC received a $200,000 Project Grant award from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Meat and Poultry Inspection Readiness Grants – Supplemental Funding program.

The grant funds will support facility improvements and equipment purchases to help Watson Farms earn a federal Grant of Inspection. Planned upgrades include an 1,800 square foot expansion for processing, storage, and employee areas; addition of a smokehouse, freezer, and band saw; and upgrades to the slaughter area including an increased ceiling height. A loading dock will also be added. These enhancements aim to increase the facility's livestock processing capacity by approximately eight beef cattle per week. They are expected to boost meat access for the Chickasaw Nation, reduce trim waste, and allow over 200 additional farmers to access processing services.

We offer state-inspected andcustom slaughter and processing services to over 1,800 ranchers annually. Council hill is a ranchingcommunity, but the closest processor is 90 minutes away. This grant proposal will help boost local andregional processing capacity for USDA inspected slaughter and processing around southeast oklahoma, arkansas, and kansas.to earn a USDA grant of inspection, we will add on an 1,800 SQ. FT. Expansion for processing, cooler, storage, smokehouse and break area to meet inspection requirements. In this area, we will add a smokehouse, container freezer, and band saw. Additionally, we plan to upgrade and expand our slaughter area andincrease its ceiling height to 18 FT. For USDA compliance. We will also add a loading dock to fulfill ordersplaced by the chickasaw nation and wholesale customers. These projects will increase meat access for the chickasaw nation, which will purchase approximately 10PROCESSED beef per week once we are USDA inspected. The equipment and facility improvements willincrease our livestock processing capacity by approximately 8 beef-cattle per week equivalent. Facilityimprovements and storage expansion will reduce trim waste by 3,120 pounds annually and increase retailsales by up to 1,900 percent during the grant period. At least 200 new farmers will have access toprocessing for their livestock as a result of this grant project.