Support your local farmer

 

Locally grown meat is good for everyone

Everyone in Goochland loves its rural character. Defining rural, however, brings to mind the comment made by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart about obscenity. He is alleged to have said “I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it.”

A vital component of rural is agriculture. Farming can be dirty, smelly, noisy, and untidy. Trees are a crop too with a decades-long growing season. Too often residents scream when they see land timbered—its wood harvested—not understanding that is part of the normal scheme of things. Rural is not a theme park with horses and cows artfully displayed on green fields for the viewing pleasure of passersby. Cows and soybeans do not go to school or call 911.

Economic pressures on small farmers are worse than ever. Rising costs of diesel fuel, fertilizer, and preparing products for market, chip away at already razor-thin profit margins. Fewer young people choose farming as a career.

Getting locally grown meat from hoof to table is expensive due to a dearth of nearby processing facilities. Farm to table dining is trendy, but difficult and expensive because meat raised in Goochland and surrounding counties must be transported to processing facilities, some of which are more than 100 miles away.

At their December 6 meeting, Goochland Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance amendment allowing limited meat processing facilities as a conditional use in areas zoned A-1 and M-2.

They also unanimously approved a CUP for a micro meat processing facility on 25.19 acres of a 67.9-acre parcel on the south side of Old Fredericksburg Road, north of Interstate 64 roughly opposite Midpoint Industrial Park near Hadensville.

Goochland resident Hayes Gottwald, principal of the applicant H.G. Meats, explained that the modular micro processing facility will be approximately 2,400 square feet in size. Approximately 1,200 square feet of office space and a 60 by 100-foot outdoor animal storage pen will also be onsite.

The proposed micro meat processing plant is less than half the square footage of the Chick-fil-A under construction in eastern Goochland. This is not a major enterprise. Gottwald said that similar micro processing plants are in other areas of the state and operate with no negative impact on their surroundings.

Although the ordinance allows facilities up to 10k square feet, any expansion of H.G. Meats requires amendment of the CUP, including public hearings and review by regulatory agencies. H. G. Meats will provide local certified humane meat processing and create approximately eight jobs. The maximum operating capacity will be 75 animals per week, although the board approved up to 100. Gottwald repeatedly said that he has no intention to expand the proposed facility and expects that it will take some time to work up to the 75 animal per week output.

Go to https://friesla.com/equipment/meat-processing-systems/ for an explanation of the modular system that H.G. Meats will install.

Gottwald explained that he initially considered opening a butcher shop in the county. As he researched that idea, he learned about impact the processing shortage on local meat supplies. This prevents expansion of existing herds because slaughter dates, some in neighboring states, need to be scheduled years in advance. This discourages current producers from increasing the size of their herds.

According to the presentation: “The processing facility consists of several connected specialized industrialized units as well as a pen for the animals. The use will require Health Department approval for the handling of water and septic waste for the facility. The waste byproducts for the processing use will be removed from the site weekly and taken to vendors that specialize in the processing of such byproducts.”

By-products of processing will be stored in barrels in climate-controlled areas until collected for transport elsewhere. Manure will be handled in a similar fashion.

The facility will be subject to all regulations and guidelines of the US Department of Agriculture; Virginia Department of Health; the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; and the Environmental Protection Agency. On site inspectors from these agencies will inspect operations to ensure compliance with regulations.

Wetlands and streams on the site will be protected from runoff, said Gottwald. The processing facility will have its own complicated septic system. Environmental studies for water usage will be complete before any construction begins to establish a baseline and after the facility has been in operation to detect any degradation of ground water. Usage is expected to be between 1,200 and 1,500 gallons of water per day. The facility will have multiple generators to ensure continuity of operations during power outages.  It will operate five days per week.

Local animal growers spoke in support of the facility. They contended that it would help small homesteading farmers and encourage consumption of locally sourced meat.

There will be a single entrance to the facility that aligns with the entrance to the Midpoint Industrial Park. The buildings and holding pens will be set back from the road approximately 217 feet, behind heavily wooded buffers. Concerns were raised about traffic on the road, and the possible negative impact of heavy trucks on the pavement. The applicant said that the plan had been reviewed and approved by VDOT.

Residents who live in the area were skeptical about contentions that the facility will have little impact on their property values, water, and quality of life.

One speaker said that she believed that the facility was a good idea, but she did not want it in her backyard.

This is a win for agriculture in Goochland helping to keep our county rural and keep farmers in business. Local investment in Goochland is also positive.

Go to the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ to listen to the December 6 hearing in its entirety.