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Note to Editors: This column is adapted from the Kansas Profile radio series. Every Wednesday, a different Kansan, Kansas community or Kansas-based company is profiled as a regular feature of the K-State Research and Extension News lineup. A photo of Ron Wilson is available at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/RonWilson.htm. Released: May 7, 2008 Kansas Profile – Now, That’s Rural
By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural
Development at Kansas State University. Homer Krehbiel of McPherson, Kansas is the entrepreneur who created this meat processing enterprise, but it has not been easy. Our story begins on the Krehbiel family dairy farm. In 1951, Homer started milking cows with his folks on the farm north of McPherson, which at that time had a population of 8,689 people. Now, that’s rural. After graduating from McPherson College and teaching two years, Homer went into farming full time. Then disaster struck. One day in 1978, Homer was mixing some feed when his hand got caught in a roller mill, stuck where no one would find him. He thought he might bleed to death and tried to cut off his hand to free himself. But being a man of deep faith, he finally bowed his head and gave himself up to the Lord. At that moment, he says, his hand came free. Homer got to a phone and called the ambulance himself. Homer’s life was saved but his hand was not. Doctors removed what was left of his hand. Homer continued farming for some years, but he had always had a dream of having a little country store there on the farm. So he converted a garage, bought some old freezers, and started selling beef also. That was the beginning. Today, the Krehbiel family has two businesses employing nearly 50 people: Krehbiel’s Specialty Meats, which is a processing and shipping facility on the family farm, and Krehbiel’s Meat Market and Deli, which is a retail outlet in McPherson just off I-35. At the retail market, a person can dine in or pick up a wide variety of food products. You’ll also find Krehbiel’s meats at such places as the state fair and Kansas Sampler Festival. Or you can go to the online store, which is www.healthymeats.net, and find a wide variety of delicious meat products plus gift certificates, sauces and seasonings, pies, pet treats, and more. Their meat is source verified, identity preserved, USDA inspected, and tenderness guaranteed, with no added hormones or artificial ingredients. But you might also encounter Krehbiel-processed meats elsewhere without even knowing it. Homer says, “Our niche is private label processing for other people.” In other words, Krehbiels will process meat for individuals or companies for their use or sale under their own label. Homer says, “We have about 60 different private label companies that we work with. We have some big companies, but we also have the small farmer with a few head and the hunter who needs a deer processed.” He says, “There isn’t anything we won’t tackle.” So when a Japanese customer wants Kobe beef or ostrich growers want their meat processed or someone needs a water buffalo done, they can come to Krehbiel’s Specialty Meats. Some Kansas companies ship products coast to coast. Krehbiels ships coast to coast every week. Wow. Homer sees growing interest in the slow food movement. He says, “Wine connoisseurs like to know where the grapes come from. I think that’s where we’re going with our food supply in general, because people want to know where their food was produced.” Krehbiel’s Specialty Meats helps those local producers by processing their products. Homer says, “I’ve found that the more you help other people, the more you get back.” So
what’s on the shopping list today? If it’s elk, goose, buffalo, duck, emu,
and more, there’s only one place that is processing such a wide variety of
meat products. We salute Homer Krehbiel and all the people of Krehbiel’s
Specialty Meats and Krehbiel’s Meat Market and Deli for making a difference
with their innovation, entrepreneurship, and service. It’s an example where
hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit can meet. -30- K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan. For more
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