From Pasture to Plate: The Story of Coastal Planes Meat Company

by Taylor Trahan Henry

Chip Perrin and David Billings met in 2006 at an oil and gas expo in Houston. Both recently returned from active duty – Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively – they hit it off. As fate would have it, they found their way to working together within the industry and then, just four short years later, were working together at the same company. Though pursuing careers in oil and gas, Chip and David’s conversations always lit on fire at the talk of cattle and the business landscape for producers in Louisiana.

Before long, an idea was born out of those conversations. “We decided the best way to move forward was to remove the regional bottleneck of processing in Louisiana,” Perrin says. “Our intent was to build a processing plant from the ground up.” Another tip of fate’s hat, Perrin and Billings were approached by the owner of an existing plant. “We saw the opportunity to move into a working plant with a great crew and make it our own.”

In 2020, Coastal Plains Meat Company was formed, and a $3.5 million investment was made into a 19,000 square foot facility on LA 91 in Eunice, Louisiana. “The decision to buy an existing facility was easy,” Perrin says. “We have a great team based out of Eunice and we are happy we made the decision to come here. It is also geographically positioned well with quick access to both I-10 and I-49.”

Now, a few short years later, the company provides processing and private labeling for producers as well as a retail arm that delivers Louisiana beef directly to the doors of consumers. With increased capacity for custom processing, Louisiana producers are retaining value and reinvesting into their operations to continue to provide high quality meat.

One of the main areas of focus for Coastal Plains, besides ensuring opportunity for Louisiana farmers to market their beef, is ensuring customers know that what they’re eating is locally and sustainably sourced.

“We saw the market moving towards consumers being interested in where their beef comes from and the pandemic put an exclamation point on that notion,” says Perrin. “Our goal was to be the catalyst for beef producers to sell beef, not just cattle.”

Following that same commitment to fill freezers with quality beef, Coastal Plains focuses on providing the highest value to our state’s beef producers. “By way of providing a facility that can take in more cattle for processing and have it distributed, the producers are making more money on those animals,” says Perrin. “There is a large number of high-quality animals born and bred here in our state, we want to keep that value chain.”

Perhaps the biggest development for Coastal Plains is a start for operations under USDA inspection, allowing Louisiana beef to be shipped to consumers and retailers nationwide! This also means that Louisiana cattle producers partnering with Coastal Plains will have an avenue for retailing their beef across the United States.

The sky is truly the limit for Coastal Plains and their plan is to take hardworking producers with them on the way to success.

To learn more about Coastal Plains Meat Company or get started on your order, visit www.coastalplainsmeatcompany.com.

Coastal Plains Meat Company can be at your doorstep. Check out these mouth-watering options!

• Bold BBQ Box
  Blend of delicious cuts ready for the grill

• Ground Beef Box
  Twenty pounds – a variety of blends, including 80/20, 85/15, and 93/7

• Beef Patty Box
  Juicy ground beef patties a variety of sizes

• Slow-N-Low Box
  Premium beef cuts and gravy steaks meant to be cooked slow and low

• Black Label Steak Box
  Excellent mix of our top-of-the-line Black Label steaks

• Smokin’ Box
  Brisket, beef dino ribs, and a Thor’s hammer

• Live Hard
  Ground beef fortified with beef heart and liver for lower calories and extra protein