A Mott cattle rancher has been awarded $7,225 by the North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission, for engineering and design of a beef processing facility in Mott.
John Roswech owns South 40 Farms. He said his goal is to take his cattle, slaughter them, and sell the meat products on-line, especially to buyers on both coasts.
"I'll be able to process about 150 to 175 head per month, when I'm fully up and running," Roswech said.
Roswech said he also wants to eventually work with other North Dakota ranchers, so they, too, could sell their beef without having a middle-man.
"North Dakota has great beef," Roswech said. "I think it's an under-marketed area for us as a state."
And Roswech said eventually, he wants to sell beef to “big box” retailers, such as Walmart and Costco.
"I want to market my beef outside the state limits oif North Dakota," Roswch said. "Ranchers are getting short-changed by the big packers."
Roswech said he hopes to break ground on his meatpacking plant within a matter of weeks.