Fayette Packing supplies Memphis in May World Championship

(Published May 6, 2009)
Fayette Packing providing pork
for national barbecue contest

By Graham Sweeney
Oakland News

Hundreds of accomplished swine smokers will compete next week in the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
But few of the participants are likely aware of the process involved in converting a 170-pound hog into a rack of ribs or pulled-pork shoulder.
Enter Fayette Packing Co., a third-generation-owned meat processing plant tucked away at 16620 Highway 196 near Oakland.
For nearly 25 years, the company has provided locally raised pork to participants of the popular Memphis in May event.
David Keith, 50, began learning the trade of animal processing from his father Harold 32 years ago. He now runs the operation.
“The contest used to be a backyard barbecue type of thing,” Keith recalled. “It has grown into what it is now, with corporate sponsors and huge booths.”
As the contest has grown, so has Keith’s clientele.
“We started out just taking care of a few of our regular customers who were in the contest,” he said. “Now, we service around 100 teams. It is one of our biggest weeks of the year.”
The process of supplying contestants with fresh meat starts in January, when Keith begins talking with local pig farmers. Fayette Packing buys corn-fed hogs from four area farmers.
“The pigs that are born in December and January are the ones that will be going to Memphis in May,” he said. “They get up to about 160-180 pounds live.”
Keith said he will process about 50 pigs for the contest this year. The meat will be chilled to 40 degrees and delivered to contestants in three trucks.
“We take the meat down to the river and pull right up to the booths,” he noted. “Then, it is up to (the contestants) to do their magic.”
In 2007, the winners of each of the top three pork categories (rib, shoulder and whole hog) used meat from Fayette Packing.
“That is pretty special,” Keith said. “We must be doing something right.”
And while pork sales make May the busiest month of the year for the 56-year-old business, swine isn’t its only specialty. Fayette Packing also processes beef, sheep, lamb and goat.
“The lamb and goat business is really picking up fast,” Keith said. “There is more demand for that product, because there is a larger ethnic community in this area now.”
Keith estimates that he used to process five-to-10 goats and sheep a week. He now averages 150 in that time.
Another big-ticket item for the USDA-inspected business is sausage. Keith said his sausage is made the same way his grandfather made it more than 50 years ago.
“We sell about 4,000 to 5,000 pounds of sausage a week,” he said.
When asked if the current economic crisis has affected his business, which has 12 full-time employees, Keith said “a little.”
“It has cut back some,” he said, “but people gotta eat.”
The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will be conducted from 11 a.m. to midnight on May 14 and 15 and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on May 16 at Tom Lee Park.