Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Agricultural and Farm Services 

Farm Operations

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC) Farm Operations include 19,000 acres of ground owned or used through partnership at ten prison locations and two Ohio Penal Industries (OPI) shops.  Farm Operations include dairy, beef, fat and feeder cattle, corn, soybean, wheat and hay crops.  The Farm Operations produce raw milk, cattle for the OPI shops to process for use in the DRC Food Service operation. 

Holstein dairy cattle are located at five farm sites and provide over 1.5 million gallons of raw milk for the OPI Beverage Processing Center (BPC) to homogenize, pasteurize and package for the DRC offender population.  Dairy farms raise their own replacement animals.

DRC Farms have over 2,500 beef cows that calve each year.  Half of the calves are kept to replace older beef cows while the other half are sent to harvest (at approximately 12 months of age, weighing 1,400 pounds).  Fat cattle are scheduled into the OPI Meat Processing Career Center (MPCC).  DRC purchases about 1,500 head of feeder cattle per year to fatten for MPCC.

All farm locations have crops and pasture to support the livestock enterprise that is at that facility.  A limited amount of production is traded for other commodities or sold if it is in surplus.

 

Farm Operations - At A Glance:

Allen Correctional Institution (ACI)
406 acres of farm ground with a beef feedlot operation

Grafton Correctional Institution (GCI)
1,157 acres of farm ground with a beef cow herd

Lebanon Correctional Institution (LECI)
LECI has DRC’s second largest acreage with 1,601 acres of farm ground and a beef cow herd

London Correctional Institution (LOCI)
LOCI has DRC’s largest acreage with 2,292 acres of farm ground and the largest dairy operation along with beef finishing

Marion Correctional Institution (MCI)
980 acres of farm ground with a dairy herd

Mansfield Correctional Institution (MANCI)
800 acres of farm ground with a beef cow herd, the largest in DRC, and a beef finishing operation

Pickaway Correctional Institution (PCI)
900 acres of farm ground with DRC’s second largest dairy herd

Ross Correctional Institution (RCI)
1,140 acres of farm ground with a beef back grounding operation and a dairy herd

Southeastern Correctional Institution (SCI)
578 acres of farm ground with a beef cow herd and beef finishing operation

Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF)
921 acres of farm ground with a beef cow operation

Acreage listed above with each institution is owned by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and does not include land used through partnerships.

[Back to top]

OPI Beverage Processing Center

The Beverage Processing Center (BPC) is located at the Pickaway Correctional Institution and is responsible for processing of milk and a non-carbonated, fruit flavored, beverage.  Milk is 1%, based on dietary requirements from the DRC Dietician.  Milk (1,522,260 gallons) is provided by the five dairy farms.  Shortages (514,639 gallons) are supplemented through The Ohio State University and Rausch Farms.

BPC is open 6:30 am to 10:00 pm, seven days a week, operating two shifts per day.  Currently, 35,000 gallons of milk and 18,000 gallons of flavored beverage are processed each week.  Products are sold in 5-gallon bladders for use in dispensing machines, or in cases of 4.5-gallons of individual serving plastic pouches (8 ounces each/72 per case).

This facility is an Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Grade “A” liquid milk processing facility.  Plant inspections and laboratory samplings of product are monitored by ODA.

There are nine full time staff positions and thirty offender positions.  Offenders employed at BPC are enrolled in a series of classes through The Ohio State University (OSU), which cover areas such as general food processing and specifics in milk/dairy processing.  Classes are taught by OSU personnel.  Offenders receive transferable college credit upon successful completion of each class. 

DRC saves in excess of $3.2 million per year over the cost of contract purchase by utilizing BPC products and over $6 million over the typical shelf cost of milk at commercial stores.

OPI Meat Processing Career Center

The Meat Processing Career Center (MPCC) is located at the Pickaway Correctional Institution, is a 37,000 square foot multi-functional operation, completing both processing and packaging of meat products.  MPCC provides the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Food Service operations over 3.2 million pounds of meat product per year.

There are eleven full time staff positions, along with four custody positions and eighty-five offender positions.  Offenders employed by MPCC have the opportunity to enroll in a series of classes through The Ohio State University (OSU), which covers areas such as general meat processing, good manufacturing practices and sanitation.  Classes are taught by OSU personnel and offenders receive transferable college credit upon successful completion of each class. 

Offenders receive hands-on training resulting in marketable skills that lead to employment opportunities in the meat processing industry upon release. 

Food items produced at MPCC are delivered to DRC institutions.  Current items include turkey breakfast mix (bulk and patty), hamburger (bulk and patty) and diced beef.  MPCC staff work closely with DRC Food Service Administration to market products and with future product development. 

MPCC is pleased to be partners with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, The Ohio State University and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association.

[Back to top]