Meat & Poultry

In Oregon, where there were once many slaughter and processing facilities, processors are now larger and fewer in number.  This has consolidated market power and impedes farmers’ and ranchers’ ability to get their products to retail markets.  As such, marketplace demands for responsibly raised meats and poultry cannot be met.  In addition, food safety regulations for meat and poultry are based on an industrial model that fails to address the needs of family-scale farms and ranches.

The Current Situation

A profound lack of USDA-certified slaughter and processing facilities in several parts of Oregon results in:

• Limited facility access, especially at busy times of the year
• Prohibitive costs when necessary to travel great distance to access facilities
• Increased animal stress involved with long-distance travel, decreasing the quality of the product and quality of life for the animals
• Increased risk to producer when basing business on access to only one custom shop that is at capacity
• Decreased ability to expand business when it is not possible to increase quantity and diversity of animals to market without processing capabilities
• A lack of retail possibilities for producers and consumers

The needs of family-scale meat/poultry slaughter and processing differ from the industrial model and are not being met by the current system:

• Current meat and poultry infrastructure is set up for commodity production, limiting direct to consumer and local retail marketing potential
• Infrastructure development for certified on-farm slaughter/processing facilities is cost prohibitive, and will only serve one farm instead of an agricultural community
• Food safety rules and regulations around slaughter and processing are in place to manage industrial food production and are not relevant or effective for smaller or diverse producers

Other states (including Washington) are working with producers to open up new processing and marketing possibilities, potentially threatening Oregon’s agricultural businesses.

There are no rendering facilities in Oregon, limiting carcass and offal disposal options.

Priority Action Items

For State Attention:

1.  Assist with the expansion of appropriate infrastructure and the ability for Oregon producers to capitalize on local opportunities:

• Recognize federal 1000-bird exemption for on-farm poultry slaughter, processing and sales
• Help fund and assist Custom-exempt shops convert to USDA standards
• Provide matching funds for USDA mobile-meat and poultry processing units

2.  Advance educational and employment opportunities:

• Re-open OSU’s USDA facility for butcher training and processing

3.  Re-establish or facilitate the development of rendering facilities and/or other offal disposal possibilities

For Federal Attention:

1.  Amend processing regulatory system to be results based and scale-appropriate for local communities:

• Use animals per acre nutrient load to determine appropriate numbers for on-farm production, processing, disposal and food safety measures

• Allow certified third-party inspection for on-farm slaughter and fixed processing facilities that results in the ability to sell retail for large animals

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