Slaughterhouse bid in limbo

State wants more information from Fairbanks butcher

July 2, 2006

By JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - The state wants a little more information before deciding whether to sell its Palmer-based slaughterhouse to a Fairbanks butcher.

On Monday, the Board of Agriculture and Conservation reviewed a proposal from bidder Bob Franklin, which would transfer Mt. McKinley Meat and Sausage Co. into private ownership, a long-sought goal by the state.

Owner of BY Farms in Fairbanks, Franklin already operates a successful meat-processing facility. His plan to run the Palmer slaughterhouse would mean the Division of Agriculture finally could drop what has become an annual financial drain on the state.

Before is approves Franklin's proposal, however, it wants him to provide a clearer financial picture.

The board asked Franklin to supply financial statements from his current operation, including tax returns, revenues and expenses. It also wants to see his personal bank statements as well as those of BY Farms.

Larry DeVilbiss, director of the state's Division of Agriculture, said Franklin's bid is still very much viable; the board just wants to see a little more information.

DeVilbiss said the board is expected to make a final decision at its next meeting Aug. 1.

Since 1987, the state has operated MMM&S, butchering roughly 1,200 animals a year for dairy farmers, ranchers, 4-H participants and other clients.

The facility, though, is a consistent money-loser, and several attempts to sell the plant as an active slaughterhouse have failed.

Earlier this year, the Board of Agriculture voted unanimously to authorize the state to sell the property. If no acceptable bids were received to run the plant as a slaughterhouse, the state would have been free to sell the property &#8220as is, where is” without any restriction on usage.

If the Franklin bid works out, DeVilbiss said he thinks the plant stands a much better chance of making it financially as a private venture. Under state ownership, the slaughterhouse couldn't tap into retail markets without competing with the private sector.

By contrast, a private owner could market and sell Alaska-grown meat, while continuing to butcher animals for the wholesale market.

Mat-Su farmers and 4-H officials have expressed concern about how long a private owner would operate the slaughterhouse.

Annually, MMM&S has butchered nonproducing dairy cows, between 50 and 75 4-H animals, and hundreds of animals for wholesale. Several local agricultural producers, including Point MacKenzie dairy farmer Wayne Brost and 4-H officials, expressed concern that the viability of their operations depends on a successful local slaughterhouse.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.