We Are On A Mission
Meet Jim & Mark Kleinschmit. Brothers raised on a farm in Nebraska by early sustainable and regenerative family farm leaders. A driving force behind the founding and vision of our company are the values and principles learned at home.
The SBC stands for "Specific Benefit Corporation," with Other Half Processing's explicit mission being "to create high value and high quality products in ways that are ethical and respectful to the animal, and support regenerative farmers, ranchers and agricultural systems.
JIM KLEINSCHMIT
Founder & CEO
After farm and college, Jim's work and studies took him to Russia, the Baltics and Seattle. But the pull of agriculture and family was strong, so Jim returned to Minnesota in 2001. Most of the next fifteen years were spent working on US and international farm and climate policy, rural development, regenerative agriculture, green chemistry and related value-added markets.
In 2016, Jim co-founded (and continues to help lead) Tree-Range Farms, home of Tree-Range® chicken, the leading US regenerative poultry brand. Around the same time, he became focused on the problem/opportunity of traceable, regenerative byproducts. That focus quickly grew from an exploration into a serious business idea, and Other Half Processing was born.
MARK KLEINSCHMIT
Co-Founder & COO/CFO
Mark followed a different route from the farm, acquiring a Ph.D. in Physics before joining a Fortune 500 company. In 14 years, he worked in a range of roles including Marketing Director, Business Development Director, operations and Product Development, picking up an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management along the way.
Mark informally advised Jim in early company development, and then jumped in as a co-founder when Other Half Processing was officially established.