In this video interview, Victor Granados offers his insights into why the workforce in and around Stampede Meat's new Sunland Park, N.M., facility helped make the location a great fit for the company.

In this video interview, Jim Scott talks about the ways by which Sunland Park, N.M., ended up being the final site selected for Stampede Meat’s new processing facility.

In this video interview, Brock Furlong discusses how Stampede Meat plans to give back and promote the Sunland Park, N.M., and greater El Paso, Texas, region — home of its brand new processing plant.

Being the weakest link in any organization or supply chain is not an award one should strive for. But the axiom “a team, organization or process is only as good as its weakest link” is true, as is the processes of food safety and sanitation are only as good as the weakest links. These links can be categorized into objective (mechanical) and subjective (human) areas. So how can the weakest links in the sanitary food supply chain be identified and continually improved?

What follows is a portion of Andy Hanacek's one-on-one interview with president & CEO Brock Furlong, who walked Hanacek through the acquisition of the plant, how the renovation proceeded and what the new facility means for Stampede Meat's future.

Bringing transparency to meat and poultry processing through the ability to track and trace products from the farm through the supply chain to the table is a complex challenge. It is, however, one worth addressing as consumers and retailers start to expect and demand it.

A few years ago, Jessica Roosa, owner of This Old Farm, based in Colfax, Ind., was trying to solve employee turnover issues on the slaughter floor and began investigating solutions for her small, aged facility that is a custom service processor of beef, pork, lamb and poultry. What she discovered was changes that helped staff also helped her animals.

The end of the year is the time many companies think about employee recognition. In reality employee recognition is something you should do throughout the year.

Inventory management is one of the most important management disciplines in every company that holds inventory. Inventory can provide the capability to meet a customer need, repair a broken machine, assemble products for sale or just keep production going.

I've written recently about the need to travel outside of your normal area. Recently, thanks to this trip and some other life developments, I'm seeing that you have to be willing to do more things outside your comfort zone as well.