Producers raising meat for sale can maximize sales by
planning their processing. Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) recently hosted
“Direct Marketing Meat: The Logistics of Meat Processing” as a webinar with
Rebecca Thistlethwaite, representing the Niche Meat Processor Assistance
Network.

Directed by Larissa McKenna, FACT is a non-profit
organization based in Chicago advocating for the safe and humane production of
meat, milk and eggs.

Before even raising an animal for slaughter, Thistlethwaite
said producers should know the regulations regarding slaughter.

“The USDA food safety inspection service has a directory on
their website,” Thistlethwaite said. “That’s a great way to find a
slaughterhouse. You can search by activity and narrow it down to state or region,
if you live near a state line. It may take a half dozen to a dozen calls to
find a slaughterhouse. This can be a challenge for newbies, as you won’t know
how many months it takes to get your animal to slaughter.”

She advised scheduling with a slaughterhouse six to 12
months in advance and designating a back-up slaughterhouse.

“It’s always good to have a Plan B or Plan C slaughterhouse
in case the one you had planned on is shut down unexpectedly,” Thistlethwaite
said.

She thinks producers should also reduce their animals’
stress by exposing them to the trailer or vehicle well in advance.

“We would put bedding, feed and water in there and let them
go in and out as they would please before their slaughter date so they would be
comfortable with that space,” Thistlethwaite said. “Don’t wait until the last
minute for the proper vehicle. If you don’t have one, some slaughterhouses may
have a list of names or contract with a company.”

Choose one near enough to keep the drive within eight hours.

Producers should avoid shipping sick, dying or diseased
animals for slaughter. “Kill them on the farm and use them for pet food or
personal use,” Thistlethwaite said. “Make sure the animals are as clean as
possible. If you’re bringing in sheep, have them shorn, ideally, so they’re not
caked with mud and manure.”

The animals should also be at the right weight and properly
fleshed out.

Thistlethwaite explained the differences among the types of
meat. Custom meat is sold “on the hoof” only, meaning the animals are sold live
to be butchered in custom wholes, halves or quarters. These are sold privately
as a live animal sale, where it’s up to the buyer to arrange slaughtering. The
meat cannot be sold wholesale, at farmers markets or to restaurants.

USDA-inspected meat is the most highly regulated. It opens
up all options for selling, including across state lines, but requires a USDA
slaughterhouse for processing, stamp and approval label.

State inspections are up to USDA standards, but cannot cross
state lines. They are available in 27 states.

Thistlethwaite said carcasses and other products of custom
slaughter are not eligible for selling, so selling animals on-the-hoof is by
live weight, not by the hanging weight. The custom exempt operator can only
charge fees for the labor involved, but not for the product.

“Selling by hanging weight is not complying with the federal
law about selling on the hoof,” Thistlethwaite added.

As another option, Thistlethwaite said a retail exemption
allows meat processors to sell meat directly to consumers through their own
store or through a farmers market or restaurant without a HACCP plan or daily
USDA inspection. The exemption also allows wholesale selling up to $75,000 for
red meat and $56,000 for poultry. The live animal slaughter is still subject to
inspection.

Poultry exemptions allow up to 20,000 birds annually without
a continual, per-bird inspection. But the farmer is still subject to the PPIA.
The producer must sell directly to the consumers or limited HRI (hotel,
restaurant or institution) within the state with the proper label. But this
rule is interpreted differently in each state.

Thistlethwaite said to improve quality and flavor, she
suggests producers “focus more on management and diet and less on genetics or
breeding stock, because that usually comes later on after you’ve taken care of
management.”

She also encourages producers to make the animals’ last 24
hours of life as low-stress as possible, for both humane reasons and to improve
quality of the meat. “Get the animals there right before they’re supposed to be
slaughtered,” she said. That helps to minimize time in the handling pens, which
can stress out the animals.

“Ask if you can stay and watch the slaughter so you can
learn how it’s done and they’ll know you’re watching over it,” she added.

“Depending upon the species you raise, you’ll get different
yields,” Thistlethwaite said. “It also helps you understand what happens to the
meat when it goes to the processor. You won’t think someone’s stealing your
meat because you’ll know the differences.”

For example, beef offers a final yield of 43.4 percent of
the live weight. For lambs, it’s 35 percent, similar to goats at 33.75 percent.
Pigs offer 52 percent, chickens yield 41.6 percent and turkeys give 45 percent.

“If the processor is against giving you a tour, that’s not
the processor you want to work with,” Thistlethwaite said.

On the other hand, producers should ask for advice of
trusted providers.

“Don’t assume they don’t know what they’re doing,” she said.
“I’ve known producers who got an 8 percent increase in yield because they
asked. Find out how they want to communicate.” Some may prefer phone calls to
email, for example.

Decide ahead of time if you want to age the meat, use the
entire carcass, sell all the parts and how you want the meat cut up. Consider
the seasonality of the cuts. For instance, roasts don’t sell as well as
sausages in summer. Think about customers’ preferences in weight, size and
package size. Thistlethwaite prefers selling bone-in, since it makes sense to
get paid for the bones.

“You may need to pay if you want to get parts of your
animals back, like the hides,” she said. “Most slaughterhouses don’t have a
capacity for storing hides. You may have to pick them up immediately.”

Producers should plan packaging and labeling to meet
customers’ expectations. Vacuum-sealed or heat shrink packs offer the most
attractive retail packaging compared with paper, since “people can see the
meat,” Thistlethwaite said.

Make sure the processor uses fast freezing. She prefers
baskets to boxes in the freezer, since the baskets allow for better air
circulation.

In the retail scenario, branded labeling offers a more
attractive package. If you make label claims, you will have to complete the
USDA label approval process. “USDA labeling can take six to eight weeks to get
approval for label claims,” Thistlethwaite said.

For transportation and cold storage, she advised farmers to
keep coolers clean by sanitizing regularly. Products should be kept cold with
temperatures checked and recorded. Frozen meat should be under 32 degrees and
fresh meat under 40 degree. Depending upon state regulations, you may need a
meat-handling license to transport meat.

“If your slaughterhouse is six hours away, it may be a good
idea to put ice or frozen water bottles in the coolers or drive at night when
temperatures are cooler,” Thistlethwaite said.

She encouraged farmers to market their meat through
differentiation. Breeds, fatter or leaner animals, production method, type of
feed, portion size and other attributes can make a farmer stand out, including
seasonality, selection, local, quantity, quality, delivery and payment plans.

“It’s really important to know your cost of production: how
much it costs to raise that animal,” Thistlethwaite said. “Look at external
pricing and see if that’s in line with the market.”