Slaughterhouse dreams fade away

Posted 8/21/12

For the past 10 years or so, the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and others have been trying to launch what could be called a boutique slaughterhouse in Liberty, NY. But after a …

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Slaughterhouse dreams fade away

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For the past 10 years or so, the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and others have been trying to launch what could be called a boutique slaughterhouse in Liberty, NY. But after a wild ride of ups and downs, the project has finally met its demise.

The red meat facility was first proposed by the Sullivan County Agricultural Local Development Corporation in 2004, but that agency made no real progress, and the IDA adopted the project four years later.

The $1.7 million it cost to build the facility, which intentionally was not completed—the idea being that the ultimate operator could then customize the plant to its own needs—came from multiple sources including the IDA, the Sullivan County Legislature and the federal government, which kicked in $800,000 via the efforts of former Congressman Maurice Hinchey.

But there were problems from the start. First, despite the fact that most people in the community say they support agriculture, and it remains the first or second largest industry in Sullivan County—depending on whose figures you believe—no one wants to invite a slaughterhouse into the neighborhood.

The IDA believed they had found the perfect location at a remote spot in the Village of Liberty near the sewer treatment plant. The land was very rugged and would need extensive earth-moving work, but there were no neighbors to complain about the expected noise and smell. Officials said with modern slaughter techniques there would be no smell.

So after more than a decade on the drawing board, the 5,000-square-foot facility was ready for an occupant. The occupant in question would have had to come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete the facility, and there were other complications.

The facility would only accommodate a few employees, and the business model envisioned by the IDA had the operation processing only a few animals per day. Also, because of the national laws regarding animal slaughter, the operator would have to pay an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to observe operations of the facility on any day when an animal was slaughtered, so the days when animal processing would take place would be limited to one or two per week. Then, even if the whole operation were successful, it could not be expanded because there was no room.

Still, despite all of this, the community was mostly supportive of the project—except perhaps the vegans—because it boosted the agriculture sector, which many people believe gives the county its charm. At the groundbreaking ceremony former legislator Cindy Gieger said “We have the land, we have the farmers, we have an agricultural community, and we have the market 90 miles away.”

What could go wrong?

In the fall of 2015, the IDA sought operators who might wish to operate the facility. They sent out more than 30 direct invitations to individuals or groups who might fill the bill. They got one response, and that one ultimately didn’t work out.

On June 20, the Sullivan County Funding Corporation (SCFC), which has a membership that is identical to the IDA, voted to move forward with a plan to repurpose the new facility from the Southern Catskills Red Meat Processing Facility to the Sullivan County Catskills Regional Food Hub. The board voted to invest $100,000 in the development of the food hub in the near future and perhaps $400,000 further along as the developers raise other funds.

The food hub is designed to link local farmers and producers with other markets, and it too is a project that IDA has been working on for several years.

It’s certainly a worthy goal. IDA chairman Ira Steingart said preliminary talks have been conducted with some of the funding sources who provided money for the red meat facility, and because it’s still supporting local agriculture, the switch should be OK.

After the experience of the past 10 years, it’s easy to be skeptical. But the good news is that more and more places have been experimenting with food hubs over the past few years, which means there are plenty of real-life examples out there from which we can find out what works, and what doesn’t. Organizations like the National Good Food Network are creating connections between people who are engaged in what they call the “good food” system, helping them learn from one another. With such resources, maybe the repurposed facility, as a food hub, has a chance at the success that eluded the slaughterhouse.

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