Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Farmers must follow many laws at the federal, state, and local level. Because lawmakers are
concerned about the safety of the food people eat, this is especially true in regards to process-
ing. There are laws about how to clean equipment in slaughterhouses and dairy barns and how
to store meat in butchers' freezers. These laws are intended to keep people safe, and many of
the guidelines are necessary and effective. But many laws also are intended for large-scale
productions, and the fine print or strict requirements can cause headaches for smaller farmers
and processors. It is important to know your state's laws about selling your products. The best
way to find out what you can and cannot do is to ask someone who works at your state De-
partment of Agriculture or a local extension office.
Beef
Where beef is slaughtered and butchered and where and how dairy products are processed af-
fect where and to whom you can sell. Government officials must inspect beef-slaughtering fa-
cilities. If you want to sell individual cuts to people, restaurants, or retail outlets, the carcass
must be inspected. State and federally inspected processing plants have the same requirements
to ensure that meat is safe to eat. To sell your meat across state lines, you must slaughter your
animals at a plant that is federally inspected -- which means, among other things, a federal
inspector will check each animal. Individual states may have other laws regarding the sale of
meat that is processed in state-inspected plants. For example, in Kentucky, you only can sell
individual cuts of beef if the carcass is federally inspected, but in Indiana, you can sell indi-
vidual cuts if it is state or federally inspected. If you have questions, the people you work with
along the way — at the slaughterhouse, butcher, and retail outlets — will have a good idea of
the laws in your state. Government officials and extension agents also can be reached for help.
Another option you have is to use facilities that are called
custom-exempt plants
. At these
plants, only the facilities (not the cattle) are inspected by state inspectors. Often, these smaller,
low-volume plants cannot justify the cost of the plant upgrades required under federal regula-
tions. These plants only are allowed to slaughter and process animals for the use of the owner
and nonpaying guests. Federal and state inspectors these facilities, but they cannot afford to
keep regular inspectors around the way larger plants do. If you are raising cattle to supply
beef only for your family, or if you reach a deal with customers to buy a percentage (usually
one quarter or one half) of one of your animals while it is alive, you can slaughter the animal
at a custom-exempt facility. Usually, the cattle farmer keeps the animal until it is time to
