Grow Your Own

On my way back to Gillette from Cheyenne I swung through Riverton to see my ole buddy Jack Schmidt. If there's one person who can dream bigger than me it's Jack. I often joked that we shouldn't be able to hang out alone because we get too many ideas going. Well Jack isn't just a dreamer, he's a doer. And his dream of local food sustainability is becoming a reality. For the past few years he's been teaming up Central Wyoming College to offer a meat processing program for their students. Turn's out he's ahead of his time. Well done ol' son.

The plan is to build a permanent processing plant, but for now they've gone portable. 

This triple axle queen has enough stainless steel in it to satisfy any cowboy's dream. She's all set up and ready for work. And meets all USDA standards. 

Even the most hardened vegetarian isn't safe from Jack's enthusiasm for locally processed meat. 

So if you have a critter you'd like cut up, give Jack a call. He'll come to you. This here's the granddaddy of them all, a portable slaughter unit. They'll bring her right to your ranch. And once the animal is shot and bled, they'll bring it into the trailer to dress, hang, and cool in one fell swoop. This will all be done under the observant eye of a USDA inspector. 

Cutting is one thing, marketing is another. With these two bad boys they can deliver their finished product directly to the consumer. And because it's USDA inspected meat, there's no limit to the market.

I'm proud of you buddy. Keep up the Good work. Lord knows we could all learn from Jack Schmidt's ambition and optimism. What a treat for me to see such a high class operation. But the real reason I went to see Jack is to pick up this pack saddle he promised me. Thanks partner, you've got my wheels turning in more ways than one.