Processing plants are a bottleneck to scaling better meat

The pandemic is highlighting one of the biggest bottlenecks to scaling better meat: processing plants.

As major processing plants close their doors due to outbreaks of COVID-19, small-scale, regional producers have been stepping up to keep meat on consumers’ tables. The demand for local food has skyrocketed in a number of locations, mine included. I am a partner with Ozark Pasture Beef, which has direct marketed beef and lamb throughout the area for over 20 years. In the past few months, we have received countless calls from potential new customers seeking meat by the cut, quarter, half, and even whole. This has been very good for business.

Undoubtedly, we are not alone in receiving the tidal wave of new demand. And while we surely have enough steers in the herd to increase our supply, there is one major roadblock that will prevent us from getting our grass-finished beef and lamb into more consumers’ hands: processing. This is a term used to encompass the butchering and breaking down of animals into packaged cuts like steaks, ground, and roasts. 

As major plants have closed and beef producers who direct market see more demand, regional processing plants that service small farmers have booked out for the rest of 2020. Our processor, which is two hours away in another state, is no exception. Other producers who direct-market have rushed to get processing dates on the books. We also suspect that some beef producers who sell through conventional channels like the local auction are now turning to direct marketing either to prevent delays at larger packing houses or to capture some of the new market demand.

Fortunately, we had already arranged for processing dates in the Fall, which means we will at least be able to continue processing the same number of steers. Most beef producers who direct-market can anticipate when they will have steers ready for processing. This allows them to schedule dates ahead of time. We typically start processing steers in Spring and have our last date of the year in early December. Depending on geography, this window can be longer or shorter. Most producers prefer to butcher animals when they are actively gaining weight and eating abundant grass as opposed to hay. But the inability to add more processing dates means we won’t be able to meet the skyrocketing demand.

I wish I could say that this has been the first major hiccup we’ve ever experienced with processing but it isn’t. Last year, the butcher that Ozark Pasture Beef had used for most of its lifetime closed. The owner sold the plant to another outfit which then closed the plant to local producers and essentially turned it into a packing house. The owner buys cattle, has them processed elsewhere, and sends the carcasses to the facility to be broken down into cuts, packaged, and assembled into boxed beef.

Some processing plants are not only booked out, they are making quick decisions about the types of livestock they’re willing to process. At the same time that our processor informed us it was booked out until 2021, it said that effective immediately it is no longer processing sheep and goats. In light of the skyrocketing demand that they’re seeing for processing services, focusing on larger animals like beef and hogs are more economical and efficient. Processing six lambs is a lot more work than two hogs but the two hogs likely yield more meat, for example. The processor forgoing poultry likely realized something similar. Why endure the tedium and labor associated with processing thousands of meat birds when hogs and beef will bring more money for less work?

I also wish that I could say we are alone. I’ve seen other farmers post on Instagram about experiencing similar processing-related headaches. A few days ago, a farm in Washington explained to its followers that the processing facility it uses announced that effective immediately it will no longer be providing USDA inspection. This means that none of the meat processed at its facility can be sold retail. In order for a plant to receive a grant of inspection, it has to apply with the USDA. If the application is approved, which means the plant has met a long and expensive list of criteria that apply regardless of how big the plant is, the USDA assigns a federal inspector to that plant. That inspector must be present when any processing activities are taking place. 

In Southern New England, Meatworks sent a notice to its local farmer clientele that it is now booking out 18 months in advance on a rolling basis. My heart sank when I read the notice. With a thriving local food system, I can’t imagine how many Maine-based livestock producers are now looking at their finishing herds wondering how long they can hold them back. A grass-finished steer is usually ready to process around 24 months old. Keeping the steer longer could impact the quality of the meat. It also means the producer will continue to incur costs associated with caring for that animal, which will cut into the already thin margins that the farmer faces. 

And how long they can continue to operate with empty freezers. Fortunately, Ozark Pasture Beef has been around for two decades and the founders have built a customer base that is loyal and understanding when we explain what’s happening. But newer producers without this safety net may not be as lucky.

What’s the solution?

All of these processing-related issues have been incredibly disheartening for producers like us. Although we certainly don’t enjoy all the problems that the pandemic has created, it has provided us with the unique opportunity to show consumers want regional food systems are capable of. For the first time in a long time, we have the attention of a wide swath of consumers who are either skeptical of the integrity of supermarket meat, nervous about impending shortages, or eager to support food production in their communities. But without access to a processor, this opportunity will largely go to waste.

There is no quick and easy solution to this problem. Operating a processing plant is expensive, grueling, dangerous, and tedious work. Our last processor said his biggest challenge was finding consistent and reliable labor. This shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s dull, dangerous, dirty, minimum wage work that often requires standing inside of a refrigerator on a concrete floor. In some geographies where the ideal window for butchering animals is shorter, it can also be seasonal work.

Custom processing helps but isn’t a good fit for most consumers

Many people have decided that buying beef in bulk is a quick fix. If you’ve ever heard the term custom processing, it means that the meat is not USDA inspected. The plant either does not have a grant of inspection from the USDA or didn’t have the inspector present for the processing of that animal. The USDA recognizes a pretty silly loophole to its inspection requirement that is purely creative legal gymnastics. If the farmer sells the live animal to the customer or a group of customers, the farmer can then take the animal to a custom processor and have the animal butchered as a service. The customer or group of customers each own a share of that animal and get a share of its meat corresponding to their ownership interest. This is how quarters, halves, and wholes are sold. I’ve even seen some farmers offering eighths or sixteenths in what I assume is an attempt to bend this exemption as far as it will go.

Purchasing bulk beef is a good option for some people but not most. Ozark Pasture Beef has received as many as ten calls a day from consumers seeking quarters, halves, and wholes. After we send them the information about the cost, the cuts they will receive, and the total pounds that they will need to store we don’t hear back from many of them. If you ordered a whole beef, for example, we would be bringing you 400-500 pounds of meat, which isn’t just ground beef, steaks, and a few roasts. It’s everything. Purchasing bulk beef, therefore, is not for the faint of heart, freezer space, or culinary flexibility.

What about state inspection programs?

Roughly half of the states in the US have a state inspection program. This means that if a processor takes an animal to a state inspected facility, he or she can sell the meat retail within state lines. In many cases, the state inspection laws mirror the USDA inspection laws. Considering that most producers like us only sell within our state, this is a great option. But passing a state inspection program is a lengthy process. What would seem like a bipartisan, economy-stimulating, resiliency-driven idea can become polarizing when lawmakers are either ignorant of the need for such a law or compelled by lobbying interests from larger packing outfits that don’t want to encourage competition.

Many people are pointing to the PRIME act as a possible step in the right direction. The authoring federal legislators, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) have tried to get this bill passed on numerous occasions. In general, the bill would loosen regulations around processing and allow beef, pork, and lamb from facilities that are not USDA inspected or state-inspected to be sold to consumers, retailers, and grocery stores within the same state. 

What often ends up being the death knell for state-level bills proposing state inspection or the PRIME act is legislator’s lack of awareness of the urgency that this problem poses as well as a lack of funding to execute the program. Even if the PRIME act passed, states would still have to pass laws pursuant to its rules to take advantage of it. 

Even if it did pass and states passed corresponding laws, existing custom processing plants are already operating at maximum capacity. The PRIME act would no doubt send a flood of producers like us to their doorstep wondering if we can book out processing dates for the next 12-24 months.

What can consumers do?

Until the processing problem is addressed, the best thing consumers can do is to keep voicing their demand for locally raised meat. As long as we know the demand is out there, we will keep fighting to get rid of this major roadblock. Building a new supply chain for regenerative food is not going to happen overnight. 

Continuing to support local farmers as they cope with the uncertainty and fluctuations is also critical. If a local producer tells you they are out of meat, ask when they anticipate the freezers being full again, and mark your calendar to contact them around that time. It’s certainly not as easy as driving to the supermarket down the street, but it’s a major act of support during a time when many farmers are terrified about losing their hard-earned customer bases. 

And, as always, don’t forget to vote. Food system issues are becoming a bigger part of some candidates’ political agendas as awareness grows around the economic, social, and environmental issues that a decentralized, regional food system can address. To learn more about how to support local producers, click here.

Lauren Manning, Esq., LL.M., is a cattle farmer, an agricultural law professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, food journalist, and contributor to the forthcoming documentary and book project Sacred Cow: The environmental, nutritional, and ethical case for better meat.