Wolseley Slaughter Plant Opens

SASKATOON - Jun 20/06 - SNS -- The Natural Valley Farms (NVF) slaughter plant northeast of Wolseley, Saskatchewan is officially opening today.

The federally inspected internationally exportable slaughter plant will slaughter all committed NVF hook and shareholder 'natural cattle' and has the ability to process beef bulls, bison and elk. Initially the plant will process roughly 62,500 head of cattle in a single shift and plans are to double that figure.

NVF co-founder and NVF President Ken Piller said more than 200 producers raise their cattle under the NVF "Family of Farms" banner and follow stringent management protocols. All targeted cattle are traditionally grown without the use of hormone implants or without antibiotics during the final feeding stage. NVF producers follow the on-farm safety practices of the Canadian Cattlemen's Quality Starts Here Verified Beef Program for full traceability from pasture-to-plate.

Natural Valley holds the distinction of being Canada's largest 'natural' producer owned beef processor. Currently 500 carcasses are processed each week which will rise to 1250 once the NVF slaughter plant is fully ramped up.

The NVF Saskatchewan customer base is steadily growing and includes more than 350 retailers and restaurants across the country. Over half of the NVF beef is shipped to eastern Canada plus there have been recent sales into the U.S. The Asian market is also opening up.

Between the two NVF plants strategically located in rural Saskatchewan they employ over 100 persons. It has been an obvious economic shot in the arm for both rural communities.