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Michigan Turkeys doubling processing

A USDA grant is helping Michigan Turkey Producers double processing capacity.

CEO Brian Boerigter tells Brownfield it’s the first major infrastructure upgrade for their Grand Rapids plant in more than 20 years.

“It will be the first step in evaluating if we can grow the number of birds that we can process beyond that,” he says.  “There are other concerns that need to be cleared as well, labor probably being the next biggest hurdle.”

The USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program grant of $1.5 million will help offset nearly $8.5 million in upgrades to update utilities, wastewater management, and could potentially allow for a second shift at the facility.

Boerigter says the turkey industry continues to be impacted by avian influenza as supply disruptions and product shortages are ongoing.

“There’s a lot of anxiousness in the industry about what’s going to happen again as we move into the spring,” he shares.

More than 9.5 million turkeys in the U.S. had to be depopulated because of the virus last year, including at one Michigan farm.

The grower-owned cooperative currently processes about 5.5 million turkeys which are sold as deli meat for Costco’s Kirkland brand, Gorden Food Services, and additional labels.