Rhea Landholm contributed to this blog.
From 1945 to 2025, Fisher Packing has evolved and changed, with one constant at its core—family.
The third-generation, family-owned-and-operated business specializes in butchering and meat processing services with several locations in eastern Indiana. Co-owned by brothers Mike, Greg, Dan, and Brad Fisher, the company has been able to adapt to meet its customers' needs over the years.
“Family is at the forefront of everything we do,” said Greg, Fisher Packing president. “Not just our family, the families we serve and the families that work here. That’s our core unit—family.”
What began as a single butcher shop offering fresh cuts and custom processing has grown into multiple locations featuring retail stores, processing facilities, and value-added production. Its Fisher Meats line of award-winning snack sticks, sausage, and bacon is sold in more than 10 states and 100 locations. The company co-packs private-label and value-added products for both small producers and national brands. And true to its beginnings, Fisher Packing continues to serve local producers with trusted slaughter and custom processing services.
“The evolution has been heavy on the modernization of equipment,” said Greg. “Also, instead of only servicing the local market, we branched out and do co-packing nationwide.”
With that growth came the need for more space and processing capacity. Acquiring that extra room required financing, and the Center for Rural Affairs’ Meat & Poultry Processing Loans were exactly what Fisher Packing needed to continue the expansion.
The processing loans are established under the U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program guidelines, with the purpose of strengthening and expanding small and medium-sized meat processing infrastructure.
Fisher Packing received two loans from the Center: the first in September 2023 and a second in January 2025. The company has used the funding for renovations to improve production flow for food safety and efficiency, expand cold storage and value-added processing capacity, update its harvest facility, and to purchase new equipment.
Meg Jackson, senior food systems loan specialist with the Center, worked closely with the Fishers on their loan application.
“This is exactly the kind of project our loan program was designed to support: family-owned, forward-thinking, and community-rooted,” said Meg. “Working with the Fisher family has been a real highlight of my time at the Center. Their commitment to local producers and building a thriving, community-based meat business shows what’s possible when vision and hard work meet the right kind of financing.”
Meat & Poultry Processing loans can be used to fund equipment, facilities, and working capital for existing, expanding, or startup meat processors. Loans are available to USDA-inspected primary (slaughter) and secondary (cut, pack, value-added) meat processors in Nebraska and throughout the Midwest.
With the funding it received, Fisher Packing has been able to expand slaughter capacity, reach out to more producers, and scale up in a big way.
“This expansion helps us serve more of the agricultural community, more of the local community, and we can produce in greater volumes and efficiencies,” said Greg. “It allows us to come up with a stronger product mix, and hire a lot more people, too.”
Since receiving funding, Fisher Packing has added 20 to 30 new employees, roughly doubling the size of its workforce. For the first time in years, the company has been able to add management roles outside of the family, and buy additional equipment.
“There’s a lot of stress when we’re getting calls for products that we know if we accept we can’t really do because we’re so tight on space,” said Mike, Fisher Packing treasurer. “Finding this financing at a reasonable rate has really helped us grow and take on those opportunities. It helps us give local communities new food products to try that they didn't have before.”
Expanding the business has strengthened the Fishers’ dedication to the meat industry.
“We love the business and agriculture, and by allowing us to grow, it feeds that passion and we can do more things we find interesting and share them with more people,” Greg said.
More than new equipment, the expansion project represents a long-term investment in local food infrastructure, workforce stability, and farm viability, Meg noted.
“Fisher Packing is the kind of anchor business every regional food system needs,” she said.
As the business continues to grow, the Fishers know they can count on the Center, whether for information or additional financing.
“Dealing with the Center as a whole has been easy and a pleasure,” said Mike. "Staff have been thorough and bent over backward to get the information we needed. They talked us through that information and helped us figure everything out. The whole process has been a good experience.”
To learn more or apply for a Meat & Poultry Processing Loan, visit cfra.org/meatprocessingloans.
