Federal funds help launch halal goat meat slaughterhouse in central Minnesota

For years, Greg Wierschke built up the nation’s only mobile, federally approved poultry slaughter unit in the country, processing birds across rural Minnesota.

Now with a $1 million infusion, he’s establishing a halal goat meat slaughterhouse in Willmar, Minn.

“We’ve learned there is a need for goat processing, especially halal [in Minnesota],” said Wierschke, who runs Elk River-based Clean Chickens and Co. with his wife, Rebecca.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday awarded him a $1,026,730 grant, which will provide 30% of the funds to establish a brick-and-mortar halal processing center in Willmar.

Wierschke said some Minnesotans assumed new immigrants to the U.S., including Islamic populations following a halal diet, might quickly lose those dietary restrictions. He said the opposite has been true, as there’s growing demand for fresh halal goat and lamb meat.

“Minnesota has a legacy of welcoming immigrants and taking in refugees,” Wierschke said. “We have a culture that has values, and they’re going to stay here with these values.”

It’s also meant a business opportunity. He estimates the new operation will produce 18 new jobs, and using a nearby rail line, the meat could be available around the country.

This week, the USDA announced $110 million in grants to expand local slaughtering and meat-processing operations. Two Minnesota sites were on the list, including Clean Chickens and the Farmers Union Foundation. The latter received more than $600,000 to establish a modular meat-processing center in Staples, which would work in collaboration with apprentices via Central Lakes College.

In a statement, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said independent producers are the aim of the federal grants “to give farmers and ranchers a fairer chance to compete in the marketplace.”

The building up of local and regional pathways for independent meat-cutting centers has been a nationwide push since the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed vulnerabilities in the global meat industry. A week ago, a longtime slaughterhouse in Starbuck, Minn. burned. But some local producers say they’ve been able to rely on a new USDA-inspected site opening in nearby Brooten.

The Brooten facility has received funding for an expansion through a state loan program.

In Willmar, Wierschke said his business will rely on local Muslims for preparing to slaughter animals according to halal practices, including with a prayer. In turn, religiously adherent communities will have access to fresh meat, including many across the U.S.

“Right now, most of our goat is shipped from Australia and New Zealand, and it’s not fresh,” Wierschke said. “We hope to have goat ready for [next] Ramadan.”

He plans to start construction come fall.