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growing local<br />
<strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Farmer</strong> photos / Trevis Mayfield<br />
Moore Local’s offerings include locally sourced groceries,<br />
such as meat, sauce, noodles and cheese.<br />
Across the country, dairy<br />
producers dumped their milk due<br />
to a drop in demand from schools,<br />
restaurants, and other food service<br />
providers because of the coronavirus<br />
pandemic. That sudden shift in<br />
demand meant a glut of milk with<br />
nowhere to go.<br />
Also, the Thompsons and the<br />
Moores knew people who were<br />
culling their herds because of the<br />
slow down in meat packing.<br />
And, in many cases, small<br />
processors were booked out 16 to<br />
24 months.<br />
“I guess we all had a conversation<br />
one night (in 2020) and<br />
so it started,” Chad Thompson<br />
explained.<br />
The two couples discussed the<br />
need for a creamery and a locker<br />
and considered building a facility<br />
near their homes north of Maquoketa.<br />
However, the Moores had<br />
been working with the Jackson<br />
County Economic Alliance on<br />
a plan for the creamery, and the<br />
former Woodform building was<br />
for sale.<br />
The building is 31,000 square<br />
feet. Rockdale Locker will encompass<br />
about 10,000 feet, with the<br />
creamery requiring 1,200 and the<br />
store using about 4,600, Moore<br />
said.<br />
Thompson said he hopes Rockdale<br />
Locker can slice into the need<br />
for local meat processing<br />
Construction for Rockdale<br />
Locker and Moore Creamery<br />
began last spring. Thompson had<br />
planned to open this summer, with<br />
the creamery opening in the fall.<br />
However, various shortages,<br />
particularly in construction<br />
supplies and steel, have delayed<br />
openings for the entire entrepreneurial<br />
endeavor, Thompson said.<br />
Rockdale Locker turned its<br />
attention to electrical work and<br />
refrigeration needs.<br />
Thompson and Moore said they<br />
are still working on assembling<br />
experienced staff and pairing them<br />
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94 <strong>Eastern</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Farmer</strong> | <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2021</strong> eifarmer.com<br />
<strong>Eastern</strong><strong>Iowa</strong><strong>Farmer</strong>_<strong>Fall</strong><strong>2021</strong>.indd 94<br />
9/15/21 10:25 am
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