Meet the Leader of the Pack in Yoakum

Farm Pac Kitchens is a meat packing company that has been in business since 1947, and has the distinction of being one of the smallest but few remaining family-owned operations. The Yoakum-based company started smoking and curing turkeys in 1947 when E.W. Pietsch opened the processing plant as Pietsch's Farm Pac Kitchens. Pietsch also owned two Piggly Wiggly supermarkets.

It’s been a fixture in the GVEC Region spanning the four generations of its existence. The company is now run by Pietsch’s granddaughter, Sherri Kusak, her husband, Glen, and son, Tyler.

A freeze frame in Farm Pac history

Tyler Kusak, VP of Farm Pac, says, “The company has evolved a lot since it started.” He noted that Farm Pac started as a meat butchering plant and freezer for people who didn’t have freezers. But in 1987, the company decided to stop slaughtering and focused on smoked and cured meats.

On any given day, the packaging company smokes and cures a variety of meat products – from their traditional smoked turkeys – to bacon and beef jerky. In fact, they deliver a savory selection of slow-smoked meats, Texas-style beef briskets and ribs, juicy turkey legs, quality hams and pork loins, famous Yoakum-based Hans Mueller Sausages, along with cheeses and side dishes to families and events all over the state and the U.S. They even export turkey legs to Japan for festivals and concession stands.

Let’s talk turkey

The smoked turkey legs are a festival favorite at events like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the largest in Texas, the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, and the largest state fair in the country, the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Farm Pac supplies turkey not only for festivals across the state but also for events across the country. The company also supplies turkeys to the youth organizations, FFA and 4-H.

Kusak points out that the last quarter of the year is the company’s busiest time as it’s festival time and the holiday season begins. By late summer, extra employees are hired to offset the increased order volume of the holidays. Fifty employees are rotated over two shifts in a six-day workweek. Within this time, Farm Pac produces approximately 40,000 pounds of smoked turkeys a week, ranging between seven and 15 pounds.

Kusak says turkey became Farm Pac’s number one seller, followed by pork and beef. Marinating, curing and smoking turkeys begins with a 10-pound bird from a farm in Minnesota. The marinade used to inject the turkeys hasn’t changed since the one brewed over 70 years ago by Tyler’s great-grandfather. After it’s marinated, the turkey is smoked with real hickory wood.

“We don’t mess with it,” says Kusak. “We’ve done it the same way for so many years.” He adds that on Thanksgiving, his family will still carve a smoked turkey at the family table after thousands have shipped out from the Yoakum plant.

No plans to pack up and leave Yoakum

Kusak is proud of his employees, who live within Yoakum and the surrounding area. He notes that the company has no intentions of moving, especially because of the support the city of Yoakum provides.

Farm Pac’s plant is located in downtown Yoakum. Kusak says you can’t miss it because “it smells like a BBQ joint.”

What gives the Guadalupe Valley its giddy-up

Daisy Scheske Freeman, Economic Development Director of the Guadalupe Valley Economic Development, "Companies like Farm Pac are what make our region truly special. Their deep-rooted loyalty to the community is matched by the community’s loyalty to them, creating a unique and lasting bond."

Yoakum and the GVEC region thrive because of companies like Farm Pac. With its centralized location between Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Corpus Christi, it has an inventory of commercial real estate, a robust workforce, and a strong manufacturing and industrial profile.

To start a smoking hot business in Yoakum or the rest of the Guadalupe Valley, contact us today.