Missouri Association of Meat Processors

Hermann Wurst Haus Mike Sloan A hybrid German deli, the Hermann Wurst Haus in Hermann, Missouri, produces a wide variety of products, including bratwurst, bacon, summer sausage, wine, soda and beer. It also offers services such as custom processing, on-site dining and classes. For an audio story produced by the University of Missouri, Mike Sloan, president and owner at the Hermann Wurst Haus, shares more about how the business got started and what has helped it grow. One ar...ea of emphasis has been the business’ approach to marketing. The only thing I like better than making sausage is selling it, Sloan says. Now, it’s easier for me to train someone to make great sausage. So, therefore, I am the marketer. I sell the products. When you sell the products, it keeps the back going, and it keeps the cash registers running. The audio story series called The Cut: Stories of Niche Meat Businesses asks processors to explain their business experiences and lessons learned in their own words. The series is possible because of Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority funding. Find the Hermann Wurst Haus audio story on YouTube at https://youtu.be/dd7cHt3fdHo.

Essner’s Custom Butchering Denise Essner Essner’s Custom Butchering operates as a meat processing and retail business in Scott City, Missouri. In an audio story, Denise Essner, co-owner at Essner’s Custom Butchering, shares about the multigenerational business, which her in-laws started in 1983 and she and her husband now operate. The story is part of The Cut: Stories of Niche Meat Businesses, a series that highlights processors and their experiences and lessons learned. T...he University of Missouri created the series with funding from the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority. In the audio story, Denise Essner describes how customer service represents an important priority for the business. We think the service is what really gives us the step ahead, she says. We celebrate lots of milestones We celebrate birthdays with people. We celebrate last chemo treatments. We celebrate all kinds of stuff that we can hopefully help make somebody’s day a little better. Listen to the audio story on YouTube at https://youtu.be/uDpVxlrCoKo.

Cyprus Valley Meat Company/Natural State Processing/5R Custom Meats Andy Shaw Cypress Valley Meat Company, Natural State Processing and 5R Custom Meats offer meat processing services for customers from Arkansas and surrounding states, including those in southern Missouri. The businesses process species including cattle, chickens and turkeys. Andy Shaw, CEO of Cypress Valley Meat Company and Natural State Processing, shares about the businesses’ history and how they have leve...raged various partnerships as part of an audio story series called The Cut: Stories of Niche Meat Businesses. A team at the University of Missouri created the audio stories to allow processors to learn from one another and share their businesses’ stories in their own words. The Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority provided funding for the series. In the audio story, Shaw also shares about outlook for the businesses. One area of possible future investment is value-added products. We’re looking at some investments on the value-add side to doing more particularly fully cooked and smoked meat products under inspection, Shaw says. And I think that that’s important to us because it’s important to the farmers and our customers that are coming in and needing that to get more of a premium, and so that they are able to not only attract new customers and keep them engaged but also so that they’re able to hopefully make a little bit more per animal and increase their profitability to make it sustainable for them. Hear more on YouTube at https://youtu.be/MsXv5E4JJ7M.

Paradise Locker Meats Louis Fantasma Paradise Locker Meats operates in Trimble, Missouri. Plant manager Louis Fantasma shares about the business as part of an audio story series called The Cut: Stories of Niche Meat Businesses. Created by the University of Missouri, the audio stories feature processors explaining their business experiences and lessons learned in their own words. The Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority provided funding for the pro...ject. In the audio story, Fantasma shares that the business processes beef, pork, lamb and goat. He highlights how the Paradise Locker Meats pork program works with farmers to source premium-priced hogs and deliver a high-quality finished product. We pay them that premium to raise Berkshire pigs without antibiotics and raise those pigs outdoors or on pasture, so we can make those claims on the label, Fantasma says. That allows us to sell that pork to guys that are making prosciutto maybe or other higher-end markets that are also selling to consumers that are looking for that type of product. They’re typically able to charge a higher premium price, and so, therefore, they’re able to pay us a premium. So really, we kind of help those smaller farmers. What we get out of it is really great pork. Access the audio story on YouTube at https://youtu.be/gXgj5vQRj8E.

Stonie’s Sausage Shop Tyson Wibbenmeyer A fourth-generation meat processing business, Stonie’s Sausage Shop operates in Perryville, Missouri. It started as a small-scale facility in 1959 and has expanded since. Tyson Wibbenmeyer, vice president at Stonie’s, shares more about the business for an audio story series called The Cut: Stories of Niche Meat Businesses. Created by the University of Missouri with funding from the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development ...Authority, the audio stories allow processors to explain their business experiences and lessons learned in their own words. In the story, Wibbenmeyer highlights how the business has been flexible since the COVID-19 pandemic began and how its diversified approach has been beneficial. He also describes how the Stonie’s Sausage Shop team selects business opportunities to pursue. Anytime we have an opportunity, we always have to try to evaluate it and keep an open mind, Wibbenmeyer says. We look at the pros and cons to it. We look at the initial investment maybe that we would have to take on to capture that opportunity It really becomes a math equation at that point just to see if it’s profitable. Listen to the full audio story on YouTube at https://youtu.be/78w6ZnjfgJs.