USDA Rural Development Director Travis Burton to Visit Better For Butchery’s Newly Acquired Processing Facility
January 13, 2026 | 2 min to read
Visit Marks USDA-Backed Investment in Rural Food Infrastructure and the Launch of a Scalable Co-Packing Platform for Independent Meat Brands
Princeton, KY — Travis Burton, USDA Rural Development Director for Kentucky, will visit Better For Butchery’s 117 Masonic Drive Processing Facility on Tuesday, January 20 at 12:30 PM, marking the public launch of the company’s newly acquired, USDA-backed operations center.
The visit underscores the critical role USDA Rural Development played in enabling the acquisition. The facility was financed through an MPILP loan backed by the USDA and serviced by Lexington-based Community Ventures—an investment aimed at strengthening rural economies, expanding domestic meat processing capacity, and supporting independent producers seeking alternatives to large-scale industrial packers.
Strategically located in Princeton, KY—within 300 miles of roughly 50% of the U.S. population—the facility now serves as Better For Butchery’s centralized processing, packaging, cold storage, and fulfillment hub. Purpose-built to support third-party brands, the operation enables consistent quality, reliable scheduling, and national distribution for farmers and food businesses that have historically struggled to access scalable processing.
On January 20, Burton will tour the facility, participate in a discussion on rural development and food system resilience with Better For Butchery CEO Christopher Roach, and meet with local farmers and community stakeholders. Burton will also be available for media interviews following the tour.
“Strengthening local meat processing strengthens rural America,” said Burton. “Expanding domestic meat processing capacity is critical to building a stronger, safer, and more resilient food supply, and thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Rollins, we’re proud to support projects that give producers more options and keep food dollars circulating locally.
Better For Butchery’s acquisition marks a turning point for the company—from turnaround operator to platform-scale processor—and formally launches its co-packing and third-party processing services for emerging and established food brands committed to ethical sourcing and operational transparency.
“This facility represents what’s possible when public investment and private execution align,” said Roach. “With USDA Rural Development’s support, we’re rebuilding meat infrastructure in a way that works for farmers, workers, and brands alike—right here in rural Kentucky. Our approach is proving that modern, compliant, and values-driven meat processing can be decentralized to establish a new meat economy that is better for farmers, better for animals and better for all of us.”
ABOUT BETTER FOR BUTCHERY
Better For Butchery is building a new meat economy for America’s farmers by providing access to a sustainable, traceable, and transparent supply chain. The company offers end-to-end co-packing services—processing, packaging, cold storage, and fulfillment—delivered by highly trained butchers skilled in the art of seam butchery. Better For Butchery’s fulfillment team supports both wholesale and direct-to-consumer distribution, with experience shipping tens of thousands of packages annually with industry-leading accuracy.