UNR facility on track to double animals processed
Wolf Pack Meats Packaging Specialist Carli Keller enjoys using the new vacuum sealer to package local beef. Photo by Claudene Wharton
The University of Nevada, Reno has been operating Wolf Pack Meats at its Main Station ranch, part of the University’s Experiment Station unit, since 1967, harvesting, processing and producing fresh local meat for local ranchers, as well as conducting research and educating students in animal science and meat processing. But, the operation has faced challenges keeping up with the local demand from ranchers at times, as well as operating a financially sustainable operation. A little over a year and half ago, in March 2023, JD Hoagland, CEO of his own processing plant in Homedale, Idaho, was awarded a two-year contract to turn that around. He and his team have now turned that corner.
“With the tremendous turnaround, Wolf Pack Meats is now on much sounder financial footing and rapidly approaching the break-even mark,” said Amilton de Mello, associate professor with the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, who oversees the College’s animal science programs. “We’re able to serve more producers, as well as supply the Northern Nevada Food Bank and Pack Provisions with some fresh local meat. We’ve got the right team now.”
One of those team members is Tom Kulas, operations manager who came on board about a year before Hoagland and serves as the University’s main liaison for ranchers, educators and customers, as well as oversees day-to-day operations at the facility. Kulas dug up figures on the number of animals the facility has harvested over the last few years.
We’re on track to double the amount this year, compared to 2022,” he said. “It’s just much more efficient, a much more focused operation.”
Kulas says by the end of the year, with what’s booked now, the facility is on track to harvest 989 animals. That compares to 474 animals harvested in 2022. He says the facility is pretty much booked up, in terms of harvesting and processing for producers, through the end of the year. At times in the past, there was up to a one-year waiting list.
Meeting the workforce challenge
Hoagland says the turnaround has taken a lot of time, effort and teamwork. And, as is the case for many local businesses, one of the biggest challenges has been developing, training and retaining a dedicated workforce. He said the state is lacking an adequate supply of workers trained in the meat harvesting and processing industry.
The College has programs in the works to help address this short fall, including collaborations with Western Nevada College and local high schools, and employing a mobile harvest unit for training purposes. De Mello is also working with colleagues to develop curriculum that the College plans to use for a new animal science degree program, greatly expanding animal science coursework and experiences for students. Currently, animal science is a specialization under the agricultural science degree program, which somewhat limits the specific animal science components in students’ course of study, and students are wanting more education focused specifically on animal science. There’s also a new state-of-the-art classroom almost finished at Main Station that will expand student offerings and hands-on educational experiences.
In the meantime, Hoagland says it has taken the management team a little over a year to get the workforce put together to handle the increase in production that was needed to serve producers, while putting worker safety, food safety and the humane treatment of animals at the forefront.
“We were able to get it off the ground with a handful of guys, two in particular who had experience,” he said. “I had staff from my operation in Idaho come down and help train, and help out in the transition. But, it took some time – a little over a year – to get the right team of Nevada employees trained in the industry. In the end, it’s been a huge win for the community, and we have a sustainable plant now.”
Addressing infrastructure/equipment needs
Hoagland says they have also worked through some infrastructure challenges, identifying bottlenecks and working to reduce them. Besides meeting the demand of local producers to assist them with harvesting and processing, Wolf Pack Meats processes beef and lamb raised at various Experiment Station facilities across the state to supply to the community, only increasing the need for efficient production.
“It’s all grass-fed and grass-finished,” he said. “Our beef is a registered black Angus line too. We’ll be getting our prime rib ready for sale before Thanksgiving. The local community really appreciates having us as a source of locally produced high-quality beef and lamb – both consumers and restaurant owners.”
Hoagland says they also help youth who raise animals, such as those who participate in Livestock Shows and Fairs, to process their animals at Wolf Pack Meats.
“Those are costly for us on the processing side, but at the same time, it’s very beneficial for the future of the industry,” he said. “We have to invest in the kids and the future. We’ve also had some FFA kids come through and participate in the meat cutting side of it. It’s super beneficial because they’re engaging in understanding the cuts more, and learning about it. It might inspire some of them to want to become part of the workforce, planting a seed.”
Between processing its own Wolf Pack Meats, and processing for producers and youth, Hoagland says the processing line has struggled to keep up with the harvesting capacity. And while that is still the case to some extent, he says they have been able to take several steps to decrease that gap, as well as to expand meat offerings, that has resulted in an overall increase in production.
Last summer, they acquired a stuffer and a clipper for packaging ground beef. A stuffer is a machine that ground meat goes into, the machine stuffs it down a horn and pours it down into the casing or packaging, measuring one-pound portions. The clipper then clips, or seals off, the ends. Hoagland says before getting the new equipment, they had to use a hand stuffer, estimate the weight vacuum seal the package and label it, which was a very time-consuming process. The new machine creates consistent one-pound packages, and allows for production of about 30 pounds per minute, compared to the old process of getting around 5 pounds per minute.
This summer, Wolf Pack Meats was also the beneficiary of a gift from Antonia and Stephen Hurst that allowed the purchase of a new vacuum sealer.
“The vacuum sealer was killing us, said Robin Schimandle,” development director for the College. “The Hursts really stepped up to help us out by buying us the new one. I’m not sure people understand that Wolf Pack Meats is providing such a critical resource for small- to medium-sized ranchers. As the only local USDA-approved facility, without it, our producers can’t sell their meat at retail locations.”
Kulas said the new vacuum sealer has made a huge difference in the processing line, helping Wolf Pack Meats to keep up with the demand from the ranchers, as well as providing better packaging overall.
“Before, we could seal about six packages in three minutes. Now, we can do 12 packages in about 40 seconds,” he said. “It seals the packages as fast as we can load them up on the machine. It doesn’t back up there anymore. And, it’s a better seal and helps the food last longer. As long as it’s frozen immediately, it’s a very long shelf life. It gives it a better presentation as well. The producers say it looks better.”
In addition, the Hursts contributed funds that paid for an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) livestock tracking system that makes weighing and tracking the animals’ data easier and more efficient. With the system, an animal is tagged with an electronic technology device, the scale has an element, the worker waves a wand over the animal, and the system weighs the animal and automatically records the weight in a database. The Hursts also funded new tables for growing plants for the College’s Desert Farming Initiative, as well as equipment to help maintain the Nevada State 4-H camp in Lake Tahoe.
Another development this summer that holds further promise for Wolf Pack Meats is that Hoagland purchased Ponderosa Meats in Reno. Mutually beneficial collaborations are still being explored, but Ponderosa Meats doesn’t do harvesting, so Wolf Pack Meats may help Ponderosa Meats with that. If Wolf Pack Meats gets a rush on the processing end, Ponderosa Meats may be able to help with that. In addition, Ponderosa Meats has an extra hamburger patty maker that will be going to Wolf Pack Meats, so that Wolf Pack Meats will now be able to make patties on site.
Finally, Wolf Pack Meats has upgraded its website, which now allows producers to schedule their animals’ harvesting online. Customers can also buy quarter, half or whole beefs online, and there are plans to further expand online purchasing.
“Hopefully, it will just be a lot easier to schedule their animals than it has been the last couple of years,” Hoagland said. “We’ll be able to increase that capacity and provide a level of customer service higher than it’s ever been.”
Planning for the future
Still, Hoagland says there are limitations with the current facility. He said that the processing room is small, and that they have maximized the use of the current space. Also, there are only two 18-wheelers to provide cold storage.
“The floor was designed in the 60s, and capital infrastructure is expensive, so we need to find the funds to help us build that out,” he said.
He explained that currently they process beef, pork, lamb and goat at the facility, but that meats from different animals can’t be comingled during processing. Everything has to be washed down after one type of meat before switching to processing another. That affects the production capacity for the day because it takes time to wash the processing floor down, therefore reducing efficiency.
“If we could expand the plant, we could have a line for each, increase the number of workers and increase the cold storage. We would be able to process a lot more,” he said.
The wish list includes about 2,400 square feet more, for processing, and for refrigeration and freezer storage; and some more equipment, including for packaging and smoking meat. A rough price tag would be around $2 to $3 million, he estimates.
Besides expanding processing, Hoagland and de Mello both mentioned that there are plans to put in a feedlot that would allow Wolf Pack Meats to raise more animals on site to provide more local meat to the community, both consumers and restaurants.
“We’re in the process of finding the right person to hire to put in and run a feedlot,” de Mello said. “We need it, not only to produce more local meat, but also for teaching and research.”
Finding animal science solutions for generations to come
De Mello’s thoughts drift way past the next decade or two, and he has three labs on campus where he and colleagues are looking for solutions to bigger challenges that he thinks future generations will face. The labs include the Cellular Agriculture Ottoboni Lab, the Molecular Biology Lab and the Meat Science Lab. The research is complex and interdisciplinary, including collaboration with nutrition faculty and colleagues at the University’s School of Medicine, but ultimately, it is aimed at improving human health for longevity and ensuring human health as conditions on Earth continue to change. He firmly believes that producing nutritious meat is an imperative piece of the puzzle, and speaks with a passion and concern for future generations that is inspiring.
“We are aiming for things that are not on other people’s radar,” de Mello said. “We need to figure out how we can sustainably produce meats in environments that we are going to have in the next 200-300 years. There will be extreme overpopulation, we’re using up resources, and emissions are going to be too high. These things actually keep me up at night. How can we minimize our presence here on this planet, so we can continue to survive? In order to sustainably produce meat, we need to try to consume less resources and produce more, and food needs to be more nutrient dense. We’re trying to understand how, if we were to start feeding our livestock things we haven’t fed them before, how is that going to change the molecular level, and ultimately, how is that going to impact human health?”
For more information about how to support Wolf Pack Meats and the College, contact Schimandle at Robin@unr.edu.
Tom Kulas, operations manager (left), and JD Hoagland, consultant, have worked together to increase efficiency and production. Photo by Mark Earnest.
Wolf Pack Meats raises and sells locally produced beef and lamb to the community. Photo by Tom Kulas.