By Rebecca Bailey
FAPC Communications Graduate Assistant

(Stillwater, Okla. – March 6, 2013) Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center is known for assisting small businesses within Oklahoma state lines. However, on Feb. 5, two New Mexico natives made the long drive from Albuquerque, N.M., to Stillwater, Okla., to help build their business.

Michael Grier, owner of Mike’s Jerky said he was ready to take his small jerky business to the next level, which led him and his brother-in-law, Monty Pacheco to visit with staff at FAPC.

Grier started the jerky company in 2008 as a result of the struggling economy.

“We got started back in 2008 when the economy hit the bad times,” Grier said. “It ended up costing me my career at the time, so I found myself reverting to something I had done as a hobby and turned it into a business.”

Although it was a rocky time to start a business, Grier said with the help and support of family and friends they decided to take a gamble and go for it.

“After about the first six months we found that it was working,” Grier said. “We were moderately successful, paying the bills and everything else, so we decided to take the business to the next level by moving facilities."

So, in 2011, they moved their retail store from the City Community Center in Albuquerque, N.M., to a more ideal part of the city, which has brought a lot of retail traffic to the company, Grier said.

“The change of location really helped expand our business,” Grier said. “This also lead us to improving our website to increase Internet sales to promote as many different ways as we could.”

Grier said the new location and additional marketing movements provided them with enough funds that created a foundation for the company to stand on, allowing them to try new ideas and purchase new equipment.

And it was while searching for equipment that they learned about FAPC.

“They stumbled upon the FAPC website while searching for dehydration equipment,” said Tim Bowser, FAPC food process engineer.

“My brother-in-law found information about FAPC and discovered the meat dryer on its website about a year ago, and wanted to visit,” Grier said. “However, there was skepticism on my part, but when our local state extension specialist recommended FAPC, it gave me confirmation that this is what we needed to do.”

Bowser said while at FAPC they looked over the dehydrator to learn more about how it was put together and how it works.

For their size and scope, Grier said the plan FAPC offered seemed compatible with their business needs.

“For us, this plan is cost effective and one of the best we have found, so it made sense to come and see it firsthand to make sure we could make it work where we are,” Grier said.

After sitting down and discussing their needs and what they wished to accomplish, Bowser said he demonstrated the functions of the dehydrator.

“We ran some samples on his beef jerky products to test,” Bowser said. “It was a pleasure to work with Mike and Monty because of their absolute passion for beef jerky and their obsession for quality, cleanliness and sanitation.”

The feelings were mutual, as Grier said he was pleased with their decision to visit FAPC and have made the decision to construct a dehydrator at their facility as soon as possible.

“It has been a tremendous experience,” Grier said. “We have felt so welcomed and are happy we made the decision to visit. Since we first arrived, the staff were working with us, listening to us and giving us options and choices.”

Grier said they hope to grow the business without sacrificing their original mission.

“We want to make sure the product stays the same with consistency throughout,” Grier said. “We understand there will be certain times when we will have to adjust, but we don’t want to drift away from what we sought out to do in the beginning; we are never going to sacrifice quality for quantity.”

For more information about Mike’s Jerky, visit www.oldworldjerky.com.