Input sought on transition plan for Mt. McKinley Meat & Sausage Plant
(Palmer, AK) –– The Division of Agriculture and Board of Agriculture and Conservation (BAC) are seeking public input on options to transition the Mt. McKinley Meat & Sausage plant near Palmer from state ownership to the private sector. The slaughter and meat processing plant is owned by the state's Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund and operates with the use of Palmer Correctional Facility inmates. This facility is the only USDA-approved slaughter facility in Southcentral Alaska.
To gather input from the red meat industry, other processing plants, and Alaska chefs and restaurants, the Division of Agriculture has developed the following surveys. The division is seeking responses to these surveys by May 30.
The public is invited to provide oral comments on options for the plant's future during the public comment session of the BAC meeting, which will be held from 1-2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2 in the conference room of the Division of Agriculture's Palmer office. Comments may also be submitted in writing no later than July 2, and should be addressed to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation, C/O Director Franci Havemeister, at 1800 Glenn Highway Suite 12 Palmer, Alaska 99645-6736, via fax at 907-745-7112 or by e-mail to Franci.Havemeister@alaska.gov.
To participate remotely in the July 2 board meeting, call the toll-free number 1-800-315-6338 and enter the pass code 12211# at the prompt. Comments during the meeting will be limited to three minutes per person. For special accommodations due to audio or visual impairment, contact the Division of Agriculture at 761-3851. A TDD line for this meeting is available at 907-269-8411.
CONTACT: Franci Havemeister, 761-3867, Franci.Havemeister@alaska.gov
Red meat processing plants survey
DNR press release