Carson Valley Meats proposes new USDA-certified livestock harvesting and processing facility in Carson City
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 09/24/2021 - 12:01pm
A new meat processing facility aimed towards local, small-scale ranchers is under review, and will be appearing before the Carson City Planning Commission on Sept. 29 to review its proposal.
The facility, if approved, will be located in the industrial area near Detroit Road, located between Highway 50 and Morgan Mill Road.
Carson Valley Meats is based out of Gardnerville, and purchased the Old Storke Dairy in Centerville in 2020 with the intention of revitalizing the facility into a local slaughterhouse. However, their proposal was denied by the Douglas County Commissioners in Nov. 2019, due in part to concerns from homeowners in Centerville who were worried about how it may affect their housing prices.
You can read more about the proposed Gardnerville facility here.
Nevada and California ranchers in the surrounding region were in favor of the facility, as USDA-certified meat processing facilities are few and far between in the area, which effects the livelihood of the ranching communities. There are only two current operating facilities in the region: Wolf Pack Meats in Reno and Lahontan Valley Meats in Fallon, both of which have long waiting lists for ranchers.
The proposed Carson City facility is similar to the plans for Gardnerville, except instead of refurbishing an old dairy, they would build a new building for their plant.
“We’ve heard over and over that northern Nevada ranchers and producers are in need of a processing facility, and we’ve received a lot of community support for what we’re trying to do,” Karin Sinclair, owner of Carson Valley Meats, said. “We’re excited to have found a location that meets all standards of approval for Carson City planning and community development with regard to water, sewer, traffic and drainage among other conditions the county has set forth.”
Douglas also rejected the proposal based on concerns over a proposed wastewater treatment system. However, the Carson City proposed facility would be located on the Carson City sewer system, as well as the city water system, circumventing any issues around wastewater, according to Carson Valley Meats.
Another question surrounding the proposed facility in Gardnerville was concerns over odors. However, Carson Valley Meats states that odor will not be an issue, as animals will only be on site one day a week for a maximum of 24 hours. The manure and any offal will be removed within 24 hours after processing, and all processing is done inside.
The facility will be able to not only handle larger cattle operations, but small ranchers, livestock producers, and local homesteaders, who need to be able to have only a few animals processed at a time.
“This project is essential to local ranchers and livestock producers,” Sinclair said. “Local facilities are able to continue processing meat even when large-scale facilities are impacted by nationwide events that could – and have – been impacted by events like the pandemic, which have created gaps in the food supply chain.”
The project site is located in an industrial area, with vacant properties to both the north and the east, and warehouses to the east and south.
The facility will be USDA certified and will be required to obtain and maintain all local, state and federal permits and licenses, including but not limited to a wastewater discharge permit from NDEP, a Nevada Department of Agriculture license to operate, and USDA permits, according to Carson Valley Meats.
Sinclair said Carson Valley Meats supports the “Farm to Table” movement by providing a viable local alternative for both producers and consumers. The project includes a retail counter much like a neighborhood butcher shop.
Go here to read the entire Carson Valley Meats application and staff report.
