Mobile meat processing: making the local food connection

By Tori Jennings, Policy Program Intern

Many of the cherished characteristics of Wisconsin’s rural landscape have been created by grazing and rearing livestock, a system that depends jointly on farmers and abattoirs (slaughterhouses). However, small, local, inspected meat processing facilities are often an invisible link in a sustainable food and farming system. Local processors are of critical importance if we want to conserve our diverse farming landscape, support farm families and rural economies, insure humane harvesting of livestock and poultry, and have choice in what we eat and where we buy it.

One of the major hurdles facing small and medium-scale dairy, beef, lamb, goat, pork, and poultry growers is locating a nearby federal or state inspected meat processing facility willing to accept a small number of animals and give a fair price. The consolidation of the meat industry over the past two decades has resulted in the closure of hundreds of small processors across the nation. (Eighty-four percent of the slaughter in the U.S. is controlled by just four companies).

According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, farmers who sell direct to local customers make more per animal than through regular livestock market channels, such as auctions run by large packing houses. “Without local abattoirs to kill, cut and package meat,” says the National Farmers Union-Ontario, “it is impossible for farmers to direct market their product.”

One innovative response to the shortage of local meat processing facilities has been the introduction of the on farm Mobile Processing Unit (MPU). Bruce Dunlop in cooperation with Tom Schultz at Washington State University Extension and the Lopez Community Land Trust, designed and built the first USDA inspected MPU for small-scale livestock producers. The 33 ft. long trailer is a self-contained unit equipped with diesel generator, water storage, hot water heater, and refrigeration unit. According to Dunlop, one meat cutter can process five beef, twelve hogs, or twenty sheep in one day. MPU’s for livestock offer a practical solution for farmers and ranchers in regions without local fixed-slaughter facilities.

State inspected MPU’s for poultry are currently being developed and put into service in Washington, Vermont, New York, and Kentucky. Grants from federal and private sources have helped launch some of these projects.

Many pastured poultry producers are loath to truck live poultry to large processors because as one farmer told me, “Our chickens were so stressed by the time they got there, we decided to process them ourselves after that. Then neighbors began coming over to ask if we would do theirs.” MPU’s offer pastured poultry producers a path to state inspection labeling and additional market opportunities while keeping processing on the farm.

Small local meat processing facilities and mobile meat processing units fulfill an infrastructure need that supports an economically viable and humane food system. Without local processors, farmers raising grass-fed dairy and beef cattle, pasture-raised hogs, poultry, goats and sheep, are unlikely to get a fair return on their time and investment. By working collaboratively with knowledgeable abattoirs, farmers are positioned to deliver the best possible product to our tables.

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Send your comments on Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program by June 11th

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is now accepting public comment on its new Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin program. Comments are due by Wednesday, June 11th. Many of you wrote letters, made phones and took action to support funding for this innovative state program. It’s time to let your voice be heard again.

» Take action

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Farm Bill becomes law: new resources for sustainable food & farming

By Jeanne Merrill, Associate Policy Director

Congress recently took final action on the 2008 Farm Bill by overriding President’s Bush’s veto of the bill. While the failure of Congress to fundamentally reform commodity programs perpetuates many problems with current U.S. farm policy, the bill does include important building blocks for a more balanced and sustainable food and farm policy.

Here are some of the highlights of the 2008 Farm Bill:

• Over $1 billion increase in funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program (formerly the Conservation Security Program), a working lands conservation program intended to promote clean water, wildlife habitat, energy conservation and other natural resource protection.
• $75 million for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, which will ease land and capital access for beginning farmers and ranchers.
• A five-fold increase in funding for organic farming research and extension, to $78 million over 4 years, as well as a nearly five-fold increase in organic certification cost share assistance to $22 million, first time farm bill funding for a $5 million organic data collection effort, and a new option within the Environmental Quality Incentives Program for transitioning to organic farming.
• New local and regional food system initiatives, including a new federal loan guarantee for food enterprises that support local and regional food systems, and $33 million in mandatory federal funding for the Farmers Market Promotion Program.
• Two important rural development programs, the Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program and the new Rural Micro-enterprise Assistance Program (RMEAP) both received $15 million in annual mandatory farm bill funding. The VAPG program also includes a 10 percent set aside of funding for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. Although Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is gratified that both programs received mandatory funding, the funding amount represents a significant cut for the VAPG and is less than had hoped for RMEAP.
• Important competition and contract agriculture reforms in the livestock title, including authority that lets farmers not be bound by arbitration clauses favoring corporate integrators. Also the Farm Bill includes several pro-farmer reforms to rules governing production contracts, and a directive to USDA to rewrite its rules on existing legal requirements prohibiting unreasonable price preferences granted to large livestock operations to the detriment of small and mid-sized family operations.
• The new bill also provides for interstate shipment of state-inspected meat for small plants that meet high food safety standards.

Now begins the work of advocating for effective implementation and funding of sustainable agriculture priorities in the 2008 Farm Bill. So it’s not over yet. We promise to keep you updated and involved as the important work of farm bill implementation gets underway.

Questions? Feel free to contact us at newsletter@michaelfieldsaginst.org.

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New MFAI workshops!

Click on the link below for the latest workshop additions to our series, including new renewable energy workshops and the latest on pest management for brassicas.

» See full workshop list

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Post-harvest handling resources for producers now available!

As consumer demand for locally grown produce increases, more farmers are selling their products directly to supermarkets, restaurants, institutions and other large retailers. Selling to new markets can present new opportunities and challenges. A manual offered by FamilyFarmed.org is now available for farmers who want to improve their post-harvest handling practices and increase their sales.

» More information

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: Glynwood Center’s 6th Annual National Harvest Awards

The Harvest Awards honor individuals, organizations, and businesses across the United States that do an exceptional job of supporting sustainable agriculture and regional food systems. Do you know visionary farmers who not only raise amazing food but have also developed innovations in growing, marketing, and collaborating with their community in new and exciting ways? Are there inventive individuals, organizations or businesses in your community that are developing cutting-edge models to connect people and sustainable, regionally produced food?

Please help us recognize outstanding work from around the country by nominating someone whose work you admire. This year’s categories include:

• Farmer Award
• Connecting Communities, Farmers, and Food Award
• Wave of the Future Award
• Good Food for Health Award

Please visit www.glynwood.org for nomination details and to make an electronic submission. To receive nomination forms via regular mail, please contact Kim Vargo at kvargo@glynwood.org or (845) 265-3338 ext. 131. Additional information about Glynwood Center and past Harvest Award winners can also be found on our website. Nominations must be postmarked or e-mailed no later than July 21, 2008.