Matt Rains, chief of staff for Montana Farmers Union and a fifth-generation rancher near Simms, Mont., feeds some of his cattle treats. Rains said MPPC will process livestock beginning in the fall for its rancher members.

HAVRE, Mont. ­– The new Montana Premium Processing Cooperative (MPPC), a value-added agriculture co-op owned by its Montana member ranchers, plans to begin processing livestock in the fall.

The co-op is a USDA-inspected facility that will process not only cattle, but sheep, hogs, and bison, as well – 3,000-3,500 head annually at first.

MPPC is the result of Montana ranchers wanting to determine their own economical future and retail their own beef, according to Matt Rains, chief of staff for Montana Farmers Union and a fifth-generation rancher near Simms, Mont.

Up to this point, cattle producers have had little choice but to send their finished steers to a large out-of-state meat processing plant.

“Essentially, producers leave $1,500-$2,000 on the table for every steer they sell to the large out-of-state meat processing facilities. Montana producers are at a stage where they want to be retailing their own beef and that is a value-added concept,” Rains said, pointing out that these large meat processors are making more than a fair price for processing a steer.

In addition, in order to be able to retail beef online, Montana ranchers have to be able to find space at the small processing plants in Montana so they can send the beef out right away.

“In Montana right now, in order to get into a processing facility, where it is a USDA federally-inspected or state-inspected facility, it is a 1-2 year wait. That is why we have been trapped and have to sell to large packing plants,” he said.

Rains pointed out that Montana Farmers Union, for the last century, has created most of the cooperatives in the state.

“The cooperative model has always been one of our core tenets,” Rains said. “Two years ago, Montana Farmers Union president Walt Schweitzer was looking to address the capacity (at local processing plants) issue we have with producers and how they could process their own beef.”

At first, Montana Farmers Union wanted to purchase a mobile processing unit that would go to ranches around the state and process livestock.

“We realized this would be a better concept as a co-op run processing concept,” he said.

A steering committee was formed, and they listened to what producers in the state needed.

“Montana producers told us they needed an end-stage facility so they could retail their own beef. Essentially, it was taking out the middle person,” Rains said.

In September 2021, the cooperative bylaws and other rules of a co-op were completed and approved by the state.

At that time, Montana Farmers Union and Farmers Union Enterprises joined together and purchased a former Schwan’s facility in Havre for the co-op.

The co-op decided on Havre because they are partnering with Montana State University-Northern to train meat-cutters and develop a future meat processing and meat business curriculum.

“This is not just a course to learn how to cut meat – we will be teaching the meat business to students,” Rains said.

With one of the first grants Farmers Union received during COVID, they purchased a $300,000 semi-trailer that was modified to be a kill floor to take a live animal to quarters in about 20 minutes, he said.

“The semi is a compact meat processing facility in a trailer and will be parked inside the renovated building,” he said.

MPPC is officially incorporated through the Montana Secretary of State.

All farmers and ranchers in Montana (and no other state) are eligible to be members and own one common stock for $5,000. No one can buy more than one stock, and that stock makes a rancher eligible to use the facility.

“Once you purchase that stock, it gives you membership/ownership in the co-op,” Rains said. “It is equally weighted, and the board of directors is voted from the membership.”

The board of directors was elected, with Paul Neubauer as chair. There are seven board members who will be the oversight on the business aspects of the cooperative.

Some 25 producers showed up for the co-op’s first meeting and became members of the MPPC. At that first meeting, ranchers discussed quality or quantity and whether or not it would be profitable.

“It was pretty remarkable the feedback that came from that first meeting,” Rains said. “We can have the highest quality products, or we can make quantity over quality. Everyone at the meeting voted for quality. They also want the option to put their ranch brand on the label.”

Rains pointed out that the co-op will put the power of the cattle market back into the rancher’s hands by letting them process their own animals, retail with the USDA certification, and use their own ranch logo.

Voting for the “quality-first focus” influenced the type of equipment the co-op purchased, such as saws, the type of wrapping, the layout of the facility and the type of facility they needed.

“Because Havre has extreme weather, we needed to build a 40x80-foot structure in order to house the processing layout. We’ve been renovating it – the processing floor is done, and we’ll be ready to start by fall,” he said.

The co-op recently hired its general manager, Bill Jones. Jones worked at Amsterdam Meat Shop and Feddes Family Meats, where he led the business through a period of rapid growth to meet demand for locally-produced and processed meat.

Jones grew up in the Gallatin Valley, and later worked at a dairy. Next, he learned the ropes of meat-cutting at a custom meat processor before working in a grocery store meat department and then Amsterdam. 

“Jones has been very energetic and really embraces and is excited about the co-op model as a processing facility,” Rains said.

To learn more about the MPPC or to purchase a member share, visit www.mtpremiumprocessing.com.

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Editor’s note: The following content is from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) “Conservation for the Future” series, whic…

Matt Rains, chief of staff for Montana Farmers Union and a fifth-generation rancher near Simms, Mont., feeds some of his cattle treats. Rains said MPPC will process livestock beginning in the fall for its rancher members.

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