Meat's trip from farm to plate not easy

Sunday, March 4, 2007
BY BRIGITTE RUTHMAN
Copyright © 2007 Republican-American

LITCHFIELD -- The demand for organically raised meat is filling more pastures with livestock these days, but how to get the meat off the hoof and on the table poses a dilemma for farmers.

The answer may turn out to be a portable slaughterhouse, an unusual option that will discussed at a meeting here next week.

With few commercial slaughterhouses, farmers must figure a way to make the animals they raise ready for sale in a manner approved by federal regulators. You can buy a chicken and have the farmer slaughter it for you, but the same isn't true of cattle, sheep, pigs or goats because they generally aren't sold whole, said Commissioner of Agriculture F. Philip Prelli.

"There is a growing demand for organic meat and not enough plants to process the meat," Prelli said.

At Laurel Ridge Farm in Litchfield, John Morosani has been taking two or three of his 80 beef cattle a month to Bristol Beef, the state's only USDA approved plant. If it ever closes, Morosani said, he'll have to drive out of state. A longer drive would mean more expense, time, and stress for animals that tend to taste better if they are stress free before they are slaughtered, Morosani said.

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He's among several who are supporting a plan to bring a portable slaughterhouse to the area. Demand for the beef Morosani produces is growing faster than he is able to supply since he began selling to the public last fall. As is true of others like him, his ability to increase his herd hinges on many variables, including a cost effective, humane and federally approved slaughterhouse.

"We are overwhelmed," he said. "Even without advertising."

Bruce Dunlop, manager of a farm cooperative in Lopez Island in the state of Washington, will explain the portable slaughterhouse option as a possible solution at 7 Thursday night at the Litchfield Inn. The event, which is expected to draw elected officials as well as producers, is cosponsored by The White Flower Farm and Litchfield Hills Greenprint, a land conservation organization which aims to preserve existing farmland in part by assisting in the development of commercial opportunities for existing farm operations.

"A lot of processing plants have closed and we have found there are many areas that lack a service within a reasonable distance from the farm," Dunlop said. "You can buy a cow, but not a steak, from the farmer, and you can't sell to a restaurant. The regulations have gotten more complicated while consumer interest has grown exponentially."

An engineer by trade, Dunlop raises sheep and pigs and operates a USDA mobile slaughterhouse which has served livestock farmers in the northwest corner of Washington state for four years. The first-of-its-kind, 26-foot mobile slaughterhouse, which looks something like a cross between a mobile home and a big horse trailer with no windows, cost $150,000 to build, two-thirds of which was acquired through grants. It can process 1,500 animals per year, at a cost of about $550 per animal to produce commercially ready cuts. Of that $550, $75 is for slaughter.

At best, the profit margin for raising beef cattle isn't great, Dunlop said.

A cow that weighs 1,200 pounds produces about 400 pounds of retail-ready meat. It sells for an average of $4 to $20, a pound, depending on the cut. The retail value is between $2,000 and $2,500.

Thursday's talk is free.