Vt. poultry farmers to benefit from mobile slaughterhouse

Rutland Herald
January 14, 2008
By Peter Hirschfeld Vermont Press Bureau
Original Article Here

MONTPELIER — A mobile slaughterhouse will likely be on the move in Vermont by spring, allowing small Vermont poultry farmers to reap increased profits in new retail markets.

The 32-foot trailer, with a killing room, scalding pot and processing area, will offer small and mid-size farmers the state inspection credentials needed to sell their birds in local cooperatives and grocery stores.

"The plan right now is to have it operational by springtime," said Anson Tebbetts, deputy secretary for the Agency of Agriculture.

The Legislature approved funding for the approximately $80,000 slaughterhouse last year. The move is part of a larger plan to augment agricultural infrastructure in the state and capitalize on the ever-growing "Buy Local" movement.

For most farmers, trucking live poultry to the nearest USDA facility in southern Vermont is cost-prohibitive, rendering their uninspected birds illegal for sale in cooperatives and other retail outlets. The mobile slaughterhouse, which officials say will process up to 200 birds a day, will offer the state-inspection stickers that have thus far kept small farmers out of nearby food stores. "The key part is inspection, so it opens up every market you can imagine," Tebbetts said. "(Poultry) could be sold at schools, restaurants, hospitals, back to the state government. That's sort of where we're heading with this." Neither the Agency of Agriculture nor Rural Vermont, an advocacy group that lobbies on behalf of the state farmers, tracks the number of small poultry farmers in Vermont.

"I don't think there's a clear understanding of how many folks are out there that might take advantage of this," Tebbetts said. "The initial plan is to run 8,000 birds through the unit in the first year, but we really don't know how many folks are out there." The availability of the new slaughterhouse may compel new farmers to enter the wholesale and retail bird market and allow existing farmers to expand their flocks, Tebbetts said.

John Clark operates Applecheek Farm in Hyde Park. He and his wife raise free-range boilers, stewing hens and heritage turkeys on their McFarlane Road operation. Clark benefited from a key agriculture bill passed last year that allows poultry farmers with up to 1,000 birds to sell their meat at farmers' markets and restaurants. He said the mobile slaughterhouse will further expand the opportunities.

"In my situation, it'll be really helpful because I'll be able to sell in more markets and not be limited by the 1,000-bird limit," Clark said. "Right now, you can't sell to a co-op unless you bring it to a USDA facility, which is really limiting for small-scale farmers."

The mobile slaughterhouse will be leased, sold or rented to an independent operator that will have to offer services at an "affordable" cost, though details are still sketchy. Tebbetts said the state may fund the construction of more mobile units as demand warrants. The mobile slaughterhouse may well provide federal inspection as well, allowing Vermont farmers to sell in national chains such as Whole Foods Market, which, according to Tebbetts, has already expressed interest in sourcing whole birds from Vermont. The mobile slaughterhouse will, on occasion, travel to fairs and field days around the state, where farmers will be able to bring their birds for slaughter on the premises.

A push is now under way to offer similar services for red-meat farmers seeking similar accommodations for their hogs, lamb, goat and beef, though mobile facilities for those products cost about double the poultry unit.

"It's part of the whole strategy," Tebbetts said. "We've worked on promotion and marketing, but we also have to keep an eye on infrastructure needs and give farmers another option, another convenience, to potentially grow their markets."