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MCPHERSON — He lost his hand in a farming accident, but Homer Krehbiel was determined not to lose something else -- his farm.

It was 1978, and only a few months after Krehbiel caught his hand in a roller mill on his McPherson County dairy farm. Determined to keep his family of six on the farm, Krehbiel opened a small country store with his first wife in their dairy barn -- selling raw milk, eggs, cheese and meat.

They wondered if their new business would make it, if it would survive.

That was 25 years ago. Krehbiel's Specialty Meats not only survived, it is growing -- again.

What began in a dairy barn was moved to a renovated garage, a building that has been expanded a few times over the years to a 1,200-square-foot meat market and processing plant.

Still needing more space, Krehbiel, who is remarried, plans another 3,000-square-foot expansion that will add a cooler and another slaughter floor. McPherson County commissioners recently approved a 10-year tax abatement on the $250,000 building expansion, as well as a 10-year 50 percent tax abatement on $250,000 worth of equipment.

"I am amazed," Krehbiel said of the family business' growth. "As a Christian family, we give all our credit to the Lord. You reap what you sow, and we try to sow well. That is why we are still here."

The growth has come, in part, from farmers who want a better price for their products, including beef, elk, buffalo and ostrich, Krehbiel said. Since Krehbiel's Specialty Meats is a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected plant, customers from across the nation can send their products to be processed and packaged with each company's label.

A customer in North Carolina has Krehbiel's process, mix and package ostrich products. A sausage company owner in Colorado has the Kansas business make and package the company's sausage.

Homer Krehbiel stands in front of his meat display in McPherson. Krehbiel opened Krehbiel's Speciality Meats in 1978 after he sustained a farming accident on his dairy farm. The meat processing plant is planning to add a cooler and another slaughter floor. The slaughterhouse processes beef, elk, ostrich and buffalo meats.

Another customer on the East Coast tasted some of the Krehbiel's ostrich jerky, tracked the company to Kansas and called and asked if Krehbiel's Specialty Meats could start processing his ostrich.

Linda Hubalek, owner of Smoky Hill Bison at Assaria, in central Kansas, takes her meat to Krehbiel's so she can sell it on the Web and at her farm. She said she wasn't making money in the stocker cattle business, so she decided to get into a niche market.

"These days, you want to find a farm product that you can get a nice price for," Hubalek said. "Krehbiel's is close by, and we've been satisfied with the work they are doing."

About five years ago she began working with the Krehbiels, she said, noting he had done a lot of work with other bison producers.

"So many more people are going to value-added products," Krehbiel said of folks like Hubalek. "Some are selling it at farmers markets. Some are doing contracts for the government and several are marketing their own."

Even the Krehbiels market their own value-added products. Honey-glazed ham, beef fillets, summer sausage and other products are available via Internet. And folks still can zigzag to the old-fashioned meat market to purchase locally grown, natural beef, pork and other products.

Natural meat is free of hormones and antibiotics, Krehbiel said.

"It's a big advantage," he said. "People are looking for things that are safer and healthier. (At some groceries) people never know where they're product might come from. Here they know."