A Waimea business has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Kamuela Meat Co. is a new processor on the Big Island and is planning to use this award to establish a cattle slaughtering and meat processing facility, according to a USDA press release.
“This award for a new slaughtering and processing facility is in direct alignment with our state’s goal of food security and food self-sufficiency,” USDA Rural Development State Director Chris Kanazawa said in the press release. “This new facility will enable Kamuela Meat Co. to reduce the need to ship USDA-inspected cattle to the continental U.S.
“Strengthening food system infrastructure will increase the production and access to locally grown food consumed by Hawaii’s residents,” he added.
Kamuela Meat Co. already has received reservations from 13 producers totaling more than 6,500 head of cattle and expects to create 17 new jobs, according to the USDA.
The company’s owner, Desmund Manaba, declined to comment Tuesday when contacted by the Tribune-Herald.
According to the Kamuela Meat Co. website, Manaba and his wife built and currently operate a USDA-certified deer slaughter and processing facility on Molokai.
In a letter on the website, Manaba wrote that Kamuela Meat Co. “is slated to open operations within the next year.”
“Our commitment is to the generations of family-owned ranches, who have endured great hardships, to ensure you have a way to complete the process of raising your cattle and bring them to slaughter &process without having to send cattle off to the mainland,” Manaba wrote.
According to the website, the facility will be 5,160 square feet, and the company will be able to slaughter, process, package and ship beef from the site.
The facility will be located “just a few minutes outside of Waimea town” on Mamalahoa Highway, according to the website, which did not provide a specific address.