Meat+Poultry - April 2023 - 37

The popularity grew in the community, and
Ramsey later decided to make his own sausage.
The local butcher gave him the seasoning
recipe. He cut down a few trees near his house
and built a facility of about 1,200 square feet
in size and began producing sausage. To pay
homage to his agricultural education roots
he even named the new facility Blue & Gold
Sausage Co., celebrating the colors of the FFA.
TRUE TO ITS ROOTS
From its 1970 founding until today, the
business, now run by Don's sons Brett, 53, and
Greg, 49, has yet to lose sight of its purpose.
" We never forget that we're about
supporting kids' programs in agriculture first
and foremost, " Brett explained. " Our radio
ads and on our social media programs let the
public know that we are supporters of our
youth groups' fundraisers. We're constantly
amazed that Dad had the foresight to develop
a simple program that would do so much for
school and community groups. "
Put this concept into perspective:
Blue & Gold Sausage Co. makes one
product; they have one flavor profile for
that product and provide fund-raising
programs for approximately 1,100 school and
community groups.
Their seasonal business operates from
August through April to coincide with the
school year. They utilize 15 delivery trucks and
vans to send their product to groups within a
250-mile radius.
The focus on simplicity extends further
than most would believe, Brett noted.
" We pride ourselves on loyalty to our
long-time customers, " he said. " We post
on our website (blueandgoldsausage.
com) which organizations are currently
selling our products. Suppose a noncustomer
group wants to sell our program
meats in an area where we have customer
" We never forget that
we're about supporting
kids' programs in
agriculture first and
foremost. "
- BRETT RAMSEY
www.meatpoultry.com | 04.23 | MEAT+POULTRY 37
organizations using our program. In that case
they must obtain permission from the oldest
customer using our program before competing
with each other.
" We offer sausage in a 2-1/2 lb roll, or chub,
produced in our facility. Our premium, thicksliced
bacon (in 3-lb packages) and chicken
tenderloin fritters (in 5-lb packages) are
co-packed for us, which gives us three meat
items for groups to sell.
" And while we've been asked to make our
fundraising meats available to retail or chain
stores, we back away from that approach
so we don't end up confronting existing
customers with outside competition. "
NOTABLE FEATURES
Brett described his responsibilities as
inventory management and distribution, while
Greg covers the bases on production and
regulatory issues, including HACCP.
Don Ramsey died in 2020, but he saw his
business expansion happen. The original plant
was torn down and replaced with a new 30,000
square-foot facility that can churn out 300,000
lbs of product per week. His wife handled
billing and bookkeeping activities at the plant
until 2016.
The operation is inspected under the
Talmadge-Aiken program, under which state
inspectors assure equal-to-federal safety
(From left) Brett, Don,
Willadean and Greg
Ramsey are the family
members behind Blue
& Gold Sausage Co.
Meat+Poultry - April 2023

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