Funding woes shut processor of pasture-based poultry

A USDA-inspected processor in North Carolina serving producers of pasture-raised poultry in six states has suspended operations, citing a lack of capital. Cool Hand Meats of Marion, N.C., began as the Foothills Pilot Plant with funding from a patchwork of USDA, state and local sources before becoming a for-profit business on March 1, said owner Amanda Carter, who also served as general manager of the Foothills project for four years.About $1.2 million was invested over the years with the goal of creating a model for-profit meat-packing plant that would serve local independent farmers. The business was slated to process about 90,000 to 100,000 broiler-equivalent head this year, but “promised community financing did not materialize into reality,” Carter said.