Wolf Pack Meats

UNR sells meat! Who knew!? Diversity is the key to a sustainable local food system so anyone who produces locally raised food should get some attention, right? But universities engage in research and that makes me nervous when it comes to my dinner, so last week I called Mike Holcomb of Wolf Pack Meats to ask him about my concerns and some of my hopes.

Wolf Pack Meats website will answer many questions so I’ll blog only about those of particular interest to me and my friends and family.

Who makes the processed meats, for example, sausage? UNR livestock is used to produce things like sausage, ham and smoked bacon on-site. Mike is very involved in this area of production. Wolf Pack Meats also sells smoked turkeys. The turkeys are not local, but the smoking is.

Does Wolf Pack Meats sell any milk produced at the facility? No, and Mike does not personally know of anyone in Nevada who sells dairy. That’s scary! No Nevada cheese for us.

Does the livestock receive hormones or antibiotics? Wolf Pack Meats does not administer additional hormones or antibiotics.

Is the beef grass-fed or grass-finished? It is grass-finished.

What kind of research are these animals involved in? The animals sold for human consumption are used for agricultural research and education only. UNR agricultural staff and students engage in research activities that affect animal growth. They experiment with the everyday living conditions of the animals, for example, beef is fed a certain type of grass for a certain amount of time, and then they observe the results. According to Mike, no products sold through Wolf Pack have been involved in anything like GMO or science-lab-type research. Whew!

In my view, this type of agricultural program is very valuable to those of us who live in the Truckee Meadows and Northern Nevada. Why? Because if Nevada is going to continue to develop and sustain a strong local food system we need more future farmers and ranchers, and UNR educates future farmers. Mike tells me that during the summer there are about 20-25 young people at the facility, learning about food production. These students could play a significant part in Nevada’s food future.