North Carolina poultry processing plant now open for business
The Foothills Pilot Plant, located in Marion, N.C., has opened for business for area poultry and rabbit producers. It is being billed as “the first community-administered, nonprofit meat processing facility in the U.S.,” reports the Asheville Citizen-Times.
Foothills Pilot Plant LLC (FPP) is an independent entity started by McDowell Economic Development Association (MEDA) Inc. and supported by the Independent Small Animal Meat Processors Association (ISAMPA). The facility processes chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and other specialty fowl on a fee for service basis. In partnership with ISAMPA, FPP also serves as a center for learning best practices for small flock production of poultry and small scale production of meat rabbits. The facility is another step towards promoting sustainable agriculture in Western North Carolina, the facility states.