Ned Coe, Modoc County Rancher and Board of Supervisors Chair: Our inputs here are sunshine, water and soil, and we grow grass—we grow really good, strong grass, and cattle do really well. There's a good, strong supply of cattle in the area.

Shane Starr, Modoc County Supervisor: Modoc County is kind of like a modern day Mayberry. It's a wonderful community. It's small enough that everyone knows everyone, but everyone stays out of each other's business.

0:39

Jennifer Engel, Mayor Pro-tem, City of Alturas: I like that the community, we all help each other. Everybody tries to make things better. We all kind of try to do our part in helping our neighbors. And it's nice because, you know, everybody.

0:52

Shane Starr: We’re looking at roughly 60,000 annual head cow calves throughout our different ranches that we have here. These are ranches that are some of the oldest in the country.

1:01

Ned Coe: For the past 30 years, Valerie and I have been here in Alturas in Modoc County, no matter how hard the week has been, we come out here in the summertime to move irrigation water and spend check cows, and it is just so peaceful and relaxing.

1:19

Cassie Oyarzun, Vice President, Ag Loan Officer, Plumas Bank: We have a lot of people in the area that already are producing farm to table. I can name one sheep producer that markets farm to table. I can name two different groups that do pork, one of them also does chicken. And there's three or four different producers that do beef.

Jennifer Engel: And there's some really innovative people. We have two different food hubs available here at a farmers market that try to provide local produce and local meats to people. And then those have their own outreach. So they're trying to start farming in the school. So they do farm to table, and the school works with that too to feed the students.

1:57

Shane Starr: One of our biggest issues we have talking with many of our ranchers is the wait time just to get into a processing facility, as well as the time of travel and expense for the logistics to get their livestock to a meat processing facility is astronomical.

Ned Coe: The cattle we raise here is a cow calf operation. We raise Angus calves. Sell them at about eight to nine months of age at this point.

2:27

Cassie Oyarzun: Right now, it's a struggle, because producers either have to go to Fallon, Nevada, or some of them are going as far as the Five Mary's plant to get their meat processed,

2:38

Ned Coe: But with the option of being able to process our own calves, we would continue to keep them until they're about a year and a half old, and at that point, probably 1200 to 1300 pounds, instead of selling them at 650, 700 pounds.

2:57

Shane Starr: And we think if we have an opportunity to build a facility here in Modoc County. Once that we show that there is an interest with investors and a private corporation to come in and start getting something developed, you're going to see people coming out of the woodwork to come out support and start getting in line, to do their processing here at the county.

3:15

Jennifer Engel: My hope is that if we had a meat processing facility here, it would lower the end cost for people who are buying local meat.

3:25

Shane Starr: We have great interest in making sure that the businesses we have are staying vibrant, staying financially feasible.

Jim Cavasso, Alturas Business Owner, Niles Hotel and Modoc Steel and Supply: The community supports us pretty well. We're like the third largest land mass county in California.

Bucky Bell, Wagon Wheel Market: I've been in the business for 20 years. I do think there is a shortage of meat processors in California, and I do think that we're going to need more as people start to want to be more self-sufficient.

3:53

Jim Cavasso: It’ll bring jobs, that's for sure. And it’ll bring a little bit of traffic, obviously, hauling product in and out.

3:57

Shane Starr: We have the Warner Mountains, Devil’s Garden Plateau, great recreation opportunities. Our water is extremely clean. Our power rate is extremely low. If you're going to live in the state of California, Modoc County is the place to do it.

4:10

Cassie Oyarzun: There's also possibilities to utilize maybe some other financing types, whether it be SBA, USDA, something like that, to help. But as there's a good business plan, and it shows profitability, I think the capital could be there to get it done.

4:23