The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Winner's Meats' corporate headquarters and federally inspected processing plant are located in Osgood.
OSGOOD - An area fourth-generation family-owned independent meat processor has been awarded a $250,000 grant to expand its processing capacity and increase direct-to-consumer shipments of processed beef.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Ohio state director Charles Tassell and U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, announced this week that USDA will invest $250,000 in Winner's Meats through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP).
"President Trump is focused on strengthening the Great American Cattle Herd, and boosting Ohio's local beef processors will help USDA fulfill this goal," Tassell said in a statement. "It was great to join Congressman Davidson in recognizing Winner's Meats, and this grant will help them remain a pillar of Darke County for years to come."
Winner's Meats President Brian Winner said the farm-to-table company plans to use the grant to make equipment upgrades, specifically its rail system which hangs and transports meat in the production facility.
"We're planning to upgrade our rail system switches throughout the plant which has been in use since the start. We've been in business 98 years now, so our rail switches throughout our plant are certainly old," Winner told The Daily Standard. "This grant will certainly help us update some of our older equipment as well as our cooling capacity."
In addition to expanding capacity, the equipment upgrades will allow Winner's Meats to increase direct-to-consumer shipments of processed beef.
"We are expanding our reach with our quality meats further and further each year, as well as shipping more meats through our website," Winner said. "We're continually growing and making more products, so updating our coolers and freezers are a must too."
The Winner's Meats' has a meat farm in Greenville where it raises all of its cattle and hogs.
The primary purpose of MPPEP Phase 4 is to support the Ohio beef industry by diversifying the meat and poultry supply chain and opening local market opportunities, according to a USDA news release. The applicant's facility must primarily process cattle in order for the project to be eligible for the program, however, funds or equipment may be used for processing meat and poultry at the facility.
Winner's Meats' corporate headquarters and federally-inspected processing plant are located in Osgood. The company has a meat farm and state-inspected processing facility in Greenville.
"On our Greenville farm, we raise all of the cattle and hogs that become the meat on your table. Just down the road from our farm, we operate our own mix mill, grinding the feed for our livestock in-house. We even grow the crops that produce that feed," the company website states.
It also has a full-service grocery store where customers can purchase Winner's Meat and other products in Osgood.
All told, the company, which is also a wholesale operation supplying more than 50 retailers and restaurants, has about 90 employees, Winner said.
