Pictured is Ian Mumbulo, owner of Reed Brook Meat Processing located at 1385 Ellis Creek Rd. in Waverly, N.Y. Reed Brook will offer USDA certified products beginning the second week of January 2016. (Photos by JoAnn R. Walter)
Reed Brook Meat Processing, located at 1385 Ellis Creek Rd. in Waverly, N.Y., will be certified by the USDA to be a full-service USDA provider and will offer USDA certified products by the second week in January 2016. Owner Ian Mumbulo and his employees, along with assistance from a consulting agency, have worked tirelessly and committed numerous hours to implement the USDA process at Reed Brook.
The facility, which sits alongside Reed Brook Creek and near the North Barton Grange in the town of Barton, has undergone major remodeling in the past two years. Since assuming ownership in 2003, Mumbulo has tripled workspace at the property, which included a smokehouse upgrade and new walk-in coolers and freezers last year and has since expanded the operations this summer with an animal holding facility along with a live weight scale.
Reed Brook harvests beef, pork, lamb and sheep, as well as venison, and offers more than 25 choices of smoked specialties. With the USDA certification, Reed Brook has crossed a significant hurdle. It will allow the business to market animals on a different level, extend services to farmers in neighboring counties and elsewhere and become a key partner within the rural agriculture community. Another goal in the future is to meet criteria for organic processing.
Stephanie MacDonald of Wild Rose Farm in Owego, N.Y., shared, “There is a great need for organic processing. Wild Rose Farm is a certified organic farm in Owego. We have a lot of trouble getting our animals in to be processed due to lack of certified butchers.”
Reed Brook Meat Processing, located at 1385 Ellis Creek Rd. in Waverly, N.Y. will soon offer USDA certified products. For more information, follow Reed Brook Meat Processing on Facebook or view their website, reedbrookmeats.com or call (607) 565-9630.
Mumbulo shared that USDA certification will also allow Reed Brook to support local agriculture including the farm-to-fork initiative, with a future goal to do direct business with restaurants and other establishments.
Mumbulo explained, “We can now buy animals directly from farmers and sell our products to the wholesale market. Next we want to be able to sell directly.”
In preparation for becoming a USDA approved facility, Reed Brook employees attended Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Programs for Meat and Poultry Processors (HACCP) conducted by the Pennsylvania State University at Cornell University. Continued education and training will be ongoing, all of which will meet USDA requirements.
Mumbulo and his employees are sensitive to how animals are treated prior to harvesting and care about animal welfare. The animal holding facility at Reed Brook allows time for animals to settle down, and employees at the facility are attentive to the humane handling of the animals.
“We recognize that farmers and their families put so much time and effort into raising their animals, so we in turn want to make it a stress-free environment,” Mumbulo said.
The growth in business at Reed Brook will also open up opportunities for new job creation. Mumbulo estimates he will need as many as four new employees ready to go for the USDA processing ramp-up starting in January.
Reed Brook still remains a deer harvesting business and is gearing up for the busy season ahead. From Rte. 17C, Reed Brook is located 5.3 miles on Ellis Creek Road (County Rte. 9), and a short drive from the Nichols exit off the Rte. 17/86 expressway.
For more information, follow Reed Brook Meat Processing on Facebook or view their website, reedbrookmeats.com, or call (607) 565-9630.
