{"id":42132,"date":"2022-02-18T01:22:55","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T08:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/county-hears-proposal-for-larger-usda-meat-processing-plant-south-of-cortez\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:05:34","slug":"county-hears-proposal-for-larger-usda-meat-processing-plant-south-of-cortez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/county-hears-proposal-for-larger-usda-meat-processing-plant-south-of-cortez\/","title":{"rendered":"County hears proposal for larger USDA meat processing plant south of Cortez"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A lack of U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified meat processing plants in the area forces livestock owners to ship cattle out of the region. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)<\/span>Jim Mimiaga<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A USDA-certified meat processing facility is being proposed on land south of Cortez.<\/p>\n

The project at 7429 U.S. Highway 160\/491 was recommended for approval by the Montezuma County Planning Commission Feb. 10. But obtaining adequate water for the operation could be challenge.<\/p>\n

The proposal now goes to the Board of County Commissioners for a review, public hearing and final decision.<\/p>\n

Rocky Mountain Meats has submitted plans for the facility, which would have the capacity to process up to 50 animals per week, said company agent Chad Foutz.<\/p>\n

He said the modern plant would be fully enclosed, and no animals would be held outside. An engineered septic system would be required and must meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. Hours would be Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The project would be on land formerly operated by a trucking company. Existing buildings would be used and upgraded. The facility requires a special-use permit and rezoning to \u201clight industrial\u201d from \u201cagriculture,\u201d said Planning Director Don Haley.<\/p>\n

Foutz said the company is \u201cin desperate need\u201d of a larger USDA processing facility to keep up with demand for its beef products.<\/p>\n

He said there is a lack of USDA-certified slaughterhouses in the region and nationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m having to take animals to Wyoming to fulfill orders,\u201d Foutz said.<\/p>\n

He uses three USDA meat processing plants, and it can take six months to a year to obtain a kill slot.<\/p>\n

According to project documents, the USDA Cattle Inventory Census for 2017 shows the beef cattle inventory was 46,743 for the combined counties of La Plata, Montezuma, San Juan (New Mexico), and San Juan (Utah).<\/p>\n\n

Foutz plans to process about 20 animals per month at the facility, which can handle up to 200 per month. Half the slots beyond company needs will be reserved for local ranchers who want to process meat at a USDA facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be our commitment to Montezuma County,\u201d Foutz said.<\/p>\n

He said the county location on U.S. 491 is ideal because it is on the way to company feedlots in Waterflow, New Mexico, and is a good distribution point to ship meats to customers in Utah, Colorado and California.<\/p>\n

The company has utilized the USDA processing plant in Mancos approved in 2019, but it can\u2019t handle the needed volume.<\/p>\n

Foutz has met with neighbors, who have concerns about noise, odor, lighting and traffic. He said modern processing plants are enclosed and prevent odors. The closed engineered septic system controls wastes.<\/p>\n

Cow manure will be collected inside the plant and shipped to fertilize corn and alfalfa farms in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Foutz said the plant will be state of the art and adopts best practices learned from a tour of a modern facility at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. An H-VAC system keeps the facility at 45 degrees, and an exhaust system includes layers of filtration, he said.<\/p>\n

Water availability is a concern<\/div>\n

Foutz said the processing operation requires 50 to 100 gallons per animal. The property has a tap from Montezuma County Water District No. 1 that delivers 2,500 gallons to 3,500 gallons per month.<\/p>\n

But that would not be sufficient for the planned operations. At full capacity of 200 animals per month, the facility would need 10,000 gallons to 20,000 gallons per month.<\/p>\n

Water District Operations Manager Chuck Martin said the district could not provide more than current volume because of limited water supply.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are short on water, our district is maxed out,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to shortchange everyone else in the district to give you more water.\u201d<\/p>\n

The water district has a contract with the city of Cortez fora set amount of water, Martin said. Whether the amount could increase would be up to the water district board and the city. Martin is a neighbor of the proposed project.<\/p>\n

Foutz said he plans to meet with the water district board. To reduce pressure issues, he would draw water at night and store it in tanks. Processing facilities rely on pressurized hot water for operations.<\/p>\n

Neighbors have concerns<\/div>\n

Supporters and opponents spoke during the public comment period.<\/p>\n

Wanda Martin, who lives adjacent to the proposed facility, said it would \u201cnegatively impact for residents in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of properties are residential and agricultural, not commercial,\u201d she said. Her concerns include odors, traffic, light pollution, spills and runoff onto her property and McElmo Creek.<\/p>\n

Bryson McCabe, representing neighbor Jim Black, said there is concern that nearby homes could lose their value. A detailed management plan and explanation about how the septic and odor would be handled would help, he said.<\/p>\n

Jerry Ayers, a ranch manager next to the proposal, said he was \u201con the fence\u201d about the project. He also wants information about the septic system and where waste would go.<\/p>\n

Planning Director Haley said the business must provide an approved and engineered system that is approved before operations could begin per county and USDA codes.<\/p>\n

An audience member stated the city of Cortez and Cortez Sanitation District should also weigh in.<\/p>\n

Proponents commented on the potential economic benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have dozens of producers shipping cattle hundreds of miles to get processed. If we could do that locally, it would be a huge benefit,\u201d said Colton Black, director of the Cortez Chamber of Commerce. \u201cThere is an outdated perception on these facilities. The technology has changed, a lot of the impacts imagined have been mitigated out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rick
Rick McDonald rounds up cattle and keeps them in line while moving the animals from Carver Farms, south of Cortez to greener pastures north of Totten Lake. (Journal file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Beef producer Bob Ower welcomed the proposed plant. He hauls his animals to Montrose for USDA processing, certification he needs to sell the meat by the piece at the farmers market.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m booking appointments into next year and am lucky to get spots. Having more local processing would be a game changer,\u201d Ower said.<\/p>\n

Larry Don Suckla, of the Cortez Livestock Auction, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers and ranchers are struggling. This will keep us here and help hundreds of ranchers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The planning board recommended the plant for approval because it complied with the land use code.<\/p>\n

Commissioner John Hernandez urged a specific site plan be made available. Commissioner Eddie Mac Taylor was concerned about water use.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a water agreement and resolution with the water district, where do we stand?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

jmimiaga@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Planning commission recommends approval; water availability is an issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[281,28,1398,60,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-42132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-agriculture","tag-headlines","tag-livestock-farming","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42132"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85234,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42132\/revisions\/85234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42132"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=42132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}