When Scott Heartquist was growing up in rural Kentucky, his family farmed corn, tended a one-acre garden, and raised and slaughtered its own livestock. If he had to make a phone call, he had to use a landline shared by other families, known as a party line. And if he wanted a special treat, he had to have patience.

“It was a big deal to drive 10 miles and get these garlic franks,” Heartquist said from his Arizona kitchen table, fondly remembering the delicacies of his youth.

As a child, he always knew where his food came from and the hard work involved in running a family farm. When he and his wife had kids, they wanted to impart those same lessons, which is why they started Heartquist Hollow Farm.

What started with a few chickens at their Arizona ranch grew to an impressive flock of 500 birds. Soon after, sheep and pigs were added to the mix.

“I told my wife we’d never get pigs. And then I got pigs while she was out of town,” Heartquist said, smiling at his mischievous move.

Opportunity to expand
At first, Heartquist Hollow Farm paid for their pasture-raised whole animals to be butchered at a local processing facility. But the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted labor at slaughterhouses, causing capacity to drop dramatically and wait times to increase to up to three months.

Heartquist immediately recognized the opportunity to solve his processing challenges while contributing to the local economy when a small facility in Dudleyville, about 95 miles from his homestead, went up for sale.

“We just happened to be in a place where we could pivot quickly,” Heartquist said.

With fewer than 1,000 people, Dudleyville is an offshoot of Winkelman, a town of even fewer people, in eastern Arizona’s “Copper Corridor.” It’s in an area that once boasted a thriving mining industry, but today is striving to develop other economic opportunities.

Federal money helps renovate local meat processing facility

The Heartquists purchased the 120-acre butchering facility with a USDA farm loan and quickly realized that it needed attention. The land wasn’t in great condition, and the equipment needed to be upgraded.

Using free grant writing guidance from Local First Arizona’s Economic Resource Center, the Heartquists received a $200,000 USDA grant to renovate the facility as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, a stimulus package approved by Congress in 2021.

“It was really helpful for us,” Heartquist said. “It’s a win-win situation for all of us.”

New jobs and new skills
The improved facility created jobs, grew the town’s economy and boosted his fellow farmers’ bottom line. The federal grant funding allowed Heartquist Hollow Farm to go from three full-time employees to six and from two days a week to four. 

“We’ve brought jobs that weren’t there before,” Heartquist said. “The capacity we’ve been pushing is huge.”

In addition to hiring locally, the infusion of grant funding empowered Heartquist’s staff to train others in the craft of humane, artisan butchering. The facility’s new lead butcher, Mikey Nagore, already has two people under his experienced wing.

“It gives good opportunities for those guys who are living out there,” Nagore said, referring to the small mining towns of Kearny, Mammoth and San Manuel. “There aren’t too many whole animal, artisan butchers anymore.”