Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- Nobody had bid on the state-owned slaughterhouse in Palmer with only a few days remaining before the Friday deadline.

But state Agriculture Division Director Larry DeVilbiss said he's optimistic someone will try to buy the Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage Co. plant. As of Monday, DeVilbiss had received no bids, but he said he has talked to three potential bidders, all based in Alaska. All are interested in continuing to operate the facility as a slaughterhouse, he said.

"I can tell you that we don't have anything in the safe," he said. "(But) I'm hopeful."

Farmers were less optimistic, noting past attempts have failed to attract much interest in the state-run plant.

"We're concerned, and rightfully so," said Earl Clabo, a Valley-based farm equipment salesman and member of the Alaska Farmers Union.

The sale has highlighted an ongoing riff between some farmers and state agriculture officials.

DeVilbiss and other state officials have argued a privately run plant will better serve farmers. But farmers fear no one will bid on the plant, and say closing it will cripple farmers who will have few feasible options to take their animals for slaughter.

The Palmer-based plant is one of only a handful of federally certified slaughterhouses in the state, which allows meat butchered to be sold to the public.

Without it, the next closest plant is more than 300 miles away in Delta Junction, too far for most farmers to truck their animals, Clabo said.

The state is offering the plant only to those interested in continuing to operate the slaughterhouse. The state plans to close the facility by the end of the year, if it isn't sold. And if no bids are received, the state will put the plant up for sale with no restrictions, which means the new owners could close it, DeVilbiss said.

DeVilbiss, who raises beef cattle as well as carrots, said he believes the industry needs to stand on its own without state support.

But Clabo said he considers the sale emblematic of division officials' lack of concern for farming in Alaska.

"I would say the relationship between the division and the industry is at an all-time low," he said.

Built in 1983 with $2 million in state funds, the plant has a beleaguered history. It operated privately for just two years before going bankrupt. The state then took it over, reopening the plant in 1987.

Since then, the state has run the slaughterhouse, using inmate labor to help butcher animals.

Farmers from the Kenai Peninsula to the Copper Valley bring about 1,200 animals a year, including hogs and cattle, for slaughter at the plant. Despite that, the plant has never broken even, although the two sides dispute just how much has been lost.

The state reported the plant lost $142,000 last fiscal year. Clabo argued officials failed to count inventory on hand, which would reduce that figure.

If no bids are received by Friday, DeVilbiss said the plant and the 3 1/2-acre property would be offered for sale without restriction before the end of the year. An evaluation committee appointed by DeVilbiss will review bids. The committee will then forward its recommendations to the state Board of Agriculture and Conservation.

Reporter S.J. Komarnitsky can be reached at skomarnitsky@adn.com or 352-6714.