About Us
The First Farmer Owned Co-op Established in Tennessee in Over 50 Years
High-quality meat processing services for farmers and retail outlets in Northeast Tennessee. Located in Telford, TN near Historic Jonesborough on Highway 11-E.
The Appalachian Producers Co-op plans to open in 2025 in a response to a large demand for local meat processing for area livestock farmers in Northeast Tennessee.
Due to low profit margins, there is a shortage of local meat processing facilities resulting in a huge backlog at major facilities outside the region. Our founding members recognized that the existence of a local processing facility would benefit both farmers and area meat retail businesses.
Constructed in 2024, Plans to open in 2025. Our state-of-the-art facility will be built to meet the highest USDA quality standards.
Local farmers are currently faced with either long wait times or long travel times to access processing appointments. APC will double the existing processing capacity in Northeast Tennessee to help local producers meet the demand for locally raised meat.
Shorter wait times
APC's facility will process 100-125 head per week at peak production, meaning shorter wait times for local farmers.
Few miles traveled
Local farm to table meat without long shipping and storage times.
2x processing capacity
Doubling production efficiency with the ability to process twice as much meat, ensuring faster service and higher output for local farmers.
Increasing income for local farmers has a strong economic multiplier for the regional economy.
According to research done by University of Tennessee, 94% of the cattle born in the state are sold as calves into national commodity markets. Prices tend to fluctuate heavily over the years, meaning farm income can be unreliable.
The APC will offer fee-for-processing services for farmers who wish to maintain direct-to-consumer retail meat sales. The co-op will also purchase cattle finished to specification from local farmers to supply co-op branded and private label wholesale meat sales.
The bottom line is that local farmers will be able to access more reliable, stable incomes for their businesses.
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