OXFORD, Ohio — For the farming community, getting through the pandemic was especially hard. But one business owner is using lessons learned to make life easier for fellow farmers. 

What You Need To Know

• Andy Korb bought a new farm building right before COVID and had to get creative on how to use it


• He realized during the pandemic that there was a shortage of meat processing and storage facilities in the area


• Which is why he started the Stockyards Packing Company


• The 14,000 square-foot facility will be able to process, store and sell meat 

For Andy Korb, the farm is a familiar place. Korb helped his dad on his farm since he was a kid, and now, he has one of his own.

One of the many tasks is to feed the animals in his new building. But the purchase of it was ill-timed.

“We bought this building like two weeks before COVID," Korb said. "Great timing.”

So Korb had to think outside the box.

Andy Korb gets feed ready for the animals at the farm (Spectrum News/ Katie Kapusta)

“At the time, we were trying to figure out what we needed to do as a family and figure out what we needed to do to push ourselves a little bit further in being financially independent," he said.

Korb says something many people in Oxford and adjoining communities struggled with during that time was a place to store or process their meat.

“There’s been a huge need for local meat capacity and local meat processing support," he said. "And there isn’t a tremendous amount of availability in this area.”

Korb hopes to fill a need with his new business (Spectrum News/Katie Kapusta)

Which is where the Stockyards Packing Company was born.

While they are about a few weeks away from starting production, the 14,000 square-foot addition will not only process local farmers’ meat but also sell fresh and local cuts to the community.

For Korb, this project has been three years of labor and love, that he hopes will fill a great need in the state.

“We’re very blessed and very thankful that the amount of support from the local community has been as high as it has been," Korb said. "We just hope that that continues over the course of the next few years as we begin operations and hopefully be able to fill a need in this community.”