The former packing plant owned by Norman Ruebush will soon open under new ownership
By Mary Alice Murphy
The Beat found out from an unhappy neighbor of a closed packing plant that it has been sold and will soon be back in operation.
The unhappy neighbor is concerned about how it will impact the neighborhood, from smell, contamination, traffic and environmental viewpoints. That neighbor's email sent the Beat on a telephone trip for the history and the upcoming usage of the property.
Norman Ruebush and his late wife Deleen received their USDA certification for the packing plant in unincorporated Grant County in 1986. They processed many different kinds of wild game, including buffalo, elk and deer. They also would sometimes have a cow or bull brought to them for processing. He said they not only processed, but also had a small retail operation.
"It became too hard for us to do custom packing in competition with the big five processing plants in the country," Norman Ruebush said. "We were getting older and we decided to close it in 2001."
The plant has been purchased by Brasas Meat Provisions out of Deming. Norman Ruebush said the company is owned by two brothers and a nephew who also have a plant and retail operation in Deming.
The Beat spoke to one of the owners, Baudilio Ramos, Jr., and he said they have some repairs to make to the building before opening for processing. He said they hope for a state inspector to come in around late mid-month of November to look at the operation. It will be state and USDA certified.
Ramos told the Beat that they do plan on slaughtering a few animals on certain days of the week as they are brought in by local livestock owners. The facility may have a cow or two on the property for a day or two before processing the meat, so that they can be inspected before harvesting. They also will be available to process wild meat, such as deer and elk.
The operation, as it does in Deming, will be open only a few days a week, for processing. They also plan to do grilling of fresh meat to educate people about different cuts of beef and how they can be cooked in various ways. "For instance, people around here do not seem to be very familiar with Tri-tip, so we will introduce them to the cut. Another one is New York cut. It seems many people in the area just want rib-eye."
Brasas Meat will have fresh locally grown and harvested meat for retail. "We will adapt to the needs of the community."
"We are a very small producer, compared to the very large production facilities in the country," Ramos said. "All our meat waste will automatically go into a refrigerated, self-contained composter and will come out eventually as usable and available compost for gardeners. It comes out without any foul odor. We are taking steps to be as clean as we can be, and our procedures will meet all state and federal standards."
Ramos and co-owners look forward to serving the community by processing and providing fresh local meat products.
