Ranchers Choice Beef Cooperative—a farmer-owned beef processing facility under construction in western Manitoba, Canada—will use de-boning technology imported from Australia. The equipment is being removed from a closed Ferndale Foods meat-packing plant in Ferndale, WA. According to a report, the move will make the facility the only hot-boning beef facility in North America with the Australian technology.
"There is no other plant like this in Canada," said Frieda Krpan, a beef producer and secretary of the board of directors. "And I'm not aware of one in the U.S. It's a big selling point for us. It will give our meat a lot of pluses."
Hot-boning is popular in Australia and New Zealand because it eliminates the risk of bacterial contamination, reduces carcass shrinkage, and offers a 24-hour turnaround on slaughtering and packaging.
"With everyone concerned about E. coli today this gives bacteria no chance to set in," Krpan said. "It creates a super-clean meat."
With the Australian technology, once the beef is de-boned, it is packaged instantly and "blast frozen"—something Krpan said is also relatively new to Canada.
The CN$13-million plant, funded by producers, private capital, and government funds, is being built to fill the urgent need for in-province slaughtering after the U.S. border closed to Canadian cattle following discovery of cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, preventing slaughter cattle from being exported to the United States. "I feel a very quiet anger building out there and a quiet determination that we are not going to let this happen to us again," Krpan said.
The new plant is expected to be operational by late fall and create 70 to 80 jobs in the town of about 7,500. The cooperative has 3,100 members. From cows and bulls of at least 30 months of age, the end product will be boneless beef, sausage, and hamburger patties, she said.
Peggy Kent, owner of the closed former Ferndale plant said the BSE situation forced a financial reorganization and put her out of the beef-processing business. Her plant was a main outlet for cull dairy cattle and Canadian beef cattle. However, she is glad the equipment is helping Manitoba rebuild its slaughtering capacity. — WLJ
"There is no other plant like this in Canada," said Frieda Krpan, a beef producer and secretary of the board of directors. "And I'm not aware of one in the U.S. It's a big selling point for us. It will give our meat a lot of pluses."
Hot-boning is popular in Australia and New Zealand because it eliminates the risk of bacterial contamination, reduces carcass shrinkage, and offers a 24-hour turnaround on slaughtering and packaging.
"With everyone concerned about E. coli today this gives bacteria no chance to set in," Krpan said. "It creates a super-clean meat."
With the Australian technology, once the beef is de-boned, it is packaged instantly and "blast frozen"—something Krpan said is also relatively new to Canada.
The CN$13-million plant, funded by producers, private capital, and government funds, is being built to fill the urgent need for in-province slaughtering after the U.S. border closed to Canadian cattle following discovery of cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, preventing slaughter cattle from being exported to the United States. "I feel a very quiet anger building out there and a quiet determination that we are not going to let this happen to us again," Krpan said.
The new plant is expected to be operational by late fall and create 70 to 80 jobs in the town of about 7,500. The cooperative has 3,100 members. From cows and bulls of at least 30 months of age, the end product will be boneless beef, sausage, and hamburger patties, she said.
Peggy Kent, owner of the closed former Ferndale plant said the BSE situation forced a financial reorganization and put her out of the beef-processing business. Her plant was a main outlet for cull dairy cattle and Canadian beef cattle. However, she is glad the equipment is helping Manitoba rebuild its slaughtering capacity. — WLJ
