The Kuna Idaho-based American Ostrich Farms’ journey to becoming a nationwide supplier of value-added exotic-yet-assessable ostrich meat products began in 2012, when company founder Alex McCoy was living in South Africa and first ate ostrich while training for an Ironman triathlon event. Realizing that ostrich could satisfy consumers’ red meat cravings while offering them a unique eating experience and nutritional benefits, McCoy left his career in finance, moved back to his home state of Idaho, and purchased a 120-acre property on the Snake River Plain.
During the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic, American Ostrich Farms faced the same challenges as other small producers. Disruptions to the meat processing industry left them unable to harvest their livestock. Responding to the need, American Ostrich Farms began construction of a USDA-inspected processing plant adjacent to its ranch, said Jessica Roth, marketing manager at American Ostrich Farms. Dubbed Sustainable Meats, the operation opened its doors in May 2022, making American Ostrich Farms a 100% vertically integrated producer of USDA-inspected meat.