Regulations for livestock slaughter and meat processing vary depending on which market
channel the farmer ultimately chooses. The regulations are not consistent across the three
different animal classifications, and the determination of the market channel is critical to
ensure lawful compliance for the end-market being served. Later chapters discuss specifically
the regulations for amenable livestock, non-amenable animals, and amenable poultry. However,
market channels are discussed here to help farmers determine what slaughtering and processing
is required for their business model.
In a typical supply chain, a farmer might sell his or her slaughter animals at a local auction where
a regional livestock dealer picks them up to sell to a distributor or feedlot operator. The
distributor could be a meat packer (a slaughterhouse that takes orders for carcasses from
wholesale or retail businesses and then buys live animals and then slaughters and processes them
to fill the orders) or a wholesale business that buys animals outright and then arranges their
processing at a slaughterhouse of their choice. The distributor then sells the carcasses or meat
cuts to retail businesses that in turn serve the end consumer directly.
There are several opportunities to shorten this chain. For example, a farmer might sell her live
animals direct to a dealer, a live animal market, or a farmer-owned cooperative. Or a farmer
might sell packaged meat or even whole animals directly to consumer. It is important to note that
a farmer generally assumes more labor and legal responsibility the more she becomes involved in
the marketing process.
Even if simply taking an animal to auction, every farmer has some legal responsibility. When
animals leave a farm for the auction house, farmers need to make sure animals are tagged and are
wearing official USDA (for amenable species) or NYSDAM (for non-amenable species and
poultry) identification as required. Farmers should contact potential buyers, accurately describe
their animals, make sure they meet the market demand, arrange for transporting, and request
prompt payment.
Even greater advantages are recognized when a farmer sells their livestock directly to consumers,
who then make the slaughter arrangements. Even though this is a very direct way to market an
animal, the fact that a live animal is sold (rather than the meat from it) allows a farmer to fall
outside the parameters of many regulations. In this case, the meat from the live animal does not
enter commerce, only the animal does. In this sales arrangement, the consumer often has a
chance to evaluate visually the herd health and can easily trace back to the farm any problems
that may arise.
A farmer can also evolve into a dealer or packer. If this occurs, then there are several licensing
and bonding issues a farmer should be aware of. These are discussed in a later chapter on
wholesaling.
Some New York farmers have opted to build custom or 5-A slaughterhouses on their property.
Some have even expanded their operations to include a live animal market. A few farmers have
added an additional processing license to allow them to manufacture various meat and poultry
value-added type products.
A farmer may also decide to sell meat and poultry products themselves. When selling meat, it is
important for farmers to remember that the closer they move to the end consumer, the more
responsibility they take on. Regulations and licensing for amenable red meat differ depending on
whether a farmer is operating as a wholesaler and selling carcasses or retail cuts to other
wholesalers, retail businesses, and restaurants, or whether they are operating as a retailer and
selling meat cuts direct to consumers. In the case of poultry, there are important exemptions from
federal inspection depending on how many birds a poultry grower is processing for sale and
whom they are selling the birds to.
The important point to remember is that the regulations for slaughtering and processing depend
greatly on if a farmer decides to market live animals, carcasses, or retail cuts to wholesalers,
retail businesses or direct to consumers.
