Producer Partnership Hires Processing Plant Employees
Park County, Montana; December 30, 2021 — The Producer Partnership is elated to announce the hiring of two employees to operate and manage their processing plant: Cobrin Richins and Jacqualynn Jones! The pair has extensive experience with meat processing and processing plant management; the organization is lucky to have them on their team.
Jones attended Montana State University in the sustainable foods program and started a community supported agriculture vegetable farm. She went on to work for Root Cellar Foods processing organic and local vegetables and helped her family process wild game in the fall season.
“I have always found it important to bring good quality food to people in a more sustainable way,” Jones said.
Jones and Richins raise livestock of their own: meat goats, chickens, and heritage pigs. They use Yellowstone Processing — Jones’ family’s facility — to process their animals, and since then, the pair has expanded the facility to do custom exempt processing for other ranchers and farmers.
Following this expansion, Jones attended Gallatin College and obtained an associate degree in Business Management to further her knowledge of owning her own business.
“I have been working for my family’s business for the last 23 years originally processing wild game where I developed many skills in cutting, using equipment, managing, and making sausage products,” Jones said.
Richins echoed these comments and said, “Jackie runs a tight ship and had done a good job increasing production in a positive manner.”
Richins said he ran both day and night crew and helped Jones in the sausage department. Through this, the two worked together to expand Yellowstone Processing and themselves in a professional manner.
“Jackie and I have been together for 23 years now, we have worked together off and on in a few different business types and stress levels. We have learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses and balance each other out. Wherever we have been we have always had this desire to eat quality food and have talked about feeding people the same quality.,” Richins said.
Richins added that these experiences allowed them to gain valuable skills and work ethic that they take to and adapt to every new opportunity. Jones added to his comments, explaining how they found the opportunity with the Producer Partnership.
“In the last two years, there became a need for domestic processing, so we expanded the off season for doing domestic on farm slaughtering for folks — this is when we started Frog Rock Farm Butchery. Then we realized that the need to feed people who are food insecure was more important to us, so we began a conversation with Producer Partnership,” she said.
Richins said he and Jones have big plans for the Producer Partnership, and they want to capitalize on the organization’s existing success. The pair wants to supply the Montana Food Bank Network with “all they need” and later feed public schools. They also plan to create a workplace where people WANT to be rather than NEED to be to pay the bills. Lastly, Richins mentioned de-villainizing animal agriculture in the eyes of the public, “Producer Partnership has a unique opportunity to change the conversation to a positive by feeding those that need it.”
Jones expressed her excitement for their new venture with the Producer Partnership.
“Working for a company that will feed those in need is more in our hearts. We are excited to implement great ideas in a facility that will be way more setup than a wild game facility,” Jones said. “My goal working for Producer Partnership is to provide a good quality product to our customers and to hit the capacity needed to provide meat to the food banks in Montana. I believe we as Montanans should take care of our people especially where food is scarce.”
“Its life changing, industry changing and a brand-new building to get dirty. It’s a whole new chapter our life that we are excited to look back on and say ‘dang, that was good,’” Richins concluded.
