Shenandoah Valley Beef-Processing Plan Advances

Investors working to establish a beef-processing plant in the Shenandoah Valley say they hope to have a precursor to the full operation on the ground within three months.

Project backers are considering existing industrial spaces in two area localities to establish an industrial kitchen to supply precooked local beef to school systems in Virginia or the Washington area, said Tom Sikes, a project partner and general manager of Waynesboro-based Reo Logistics.

"We're working to see what existing facility we might utilize, without having to rebuild Rome, until we get to the point where we can build the new processing plant," said Charlie Drumheller, an investor and Swoope beef cattle farmer.

The cooking center would be moved into a 40,000-square-foot beef-processing center once it's built, Sikes said, on a site yet to be determined.

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