Check out the video at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec11/kctspledge_08-10.html
In 2009 the Pierce Conservation District purchased a USDA-capable mobile slaughter unit to assist the farmers of the South Puget Sound region. This mobile unit was leased to the Puget Sound Meat Producers Cooperative, a non-profit organization comprised of farmers, butchers, restaurateurs, and consumers.
Since then the unit has been used to supply local meat to local consumers with USDA approval, and has also been used to train local youth who are interested in agriculture as a way of life in how to properly prepare and process meat products. The Conservation District continues to work with the Cooperative to ensure that the unit is used effectively to provide benefit to the producers, consumers and taxpayers of Pierce County.
Project Information:
The USDA Mobile Meat Processing Unit is a regional project to provide and strengthen the infrastructure needed to allow local farmers to market local USDA meat to local consumers. Deteriorating agricultural infrastructure and few options for USDA certified meat processing drive the mission behind the development of a USDA Mobile Meat Processing Unit (MMPU). With only a handful of operating USDA certified facilities throughout Washington State, many local small-to-mid-scale farmers have little to no access to USDA processing and therefore little access to local retail markets for their products.
Designed to help farmers access local retail markets, such as farmers markets, restaurants, and other retail outlets, this project will help increase agricultural profitability while keeping farmers on their land farming. In a effort to revitalize an age-old industry by replacing a missing piece of necessary infrastructure, energizing and reviving the remaining elements (i.e. local butcher shops and butchers), and providing a missing product, “Local Meat for Local Meals,” this tool will provide farmers greater control over production schedules and costs, quality of end product, and retail price. Additionally, this tool will provide purchasers and consumers greater control over the quality, cut, and availability of local meat. Benefits of this project include increased food safety, support for humane and sustainable livestock production, and increased local dollars circulating within the communities in which they were generated.
A USDA MMPU is a tractor/trailer (in our case it is a 45-foot long Unit) designed to meet USDA specifications which travels to local farms and ranches to process animals. The MMPU then transports the animal carcasses to a cut and wrap facility for further processing. The MMPU is self-contained and is manned with a crew of trained processing personnel, including a USDA inspector. This Unit is based in Pierce County and is anticipated to serve producers in Pierce, King, Kitsap, Thurston, Lewis, and Mason Counties.
The purchase of the MMPU is funded by the Pierce Conservation District and the Unit will be operated by the Puget Sound Meat Producers Cooperative, a non-profit cooperative of local ranchers, farmers, butchers, restaurant owners, and more.
For more information on this project, please visit the Puget Sound Meat Producers Cooperative website at www.pugetsoundmeat.com.
| Pierce Conservation District 5430 66th Avenue East P.O. Box 1057 Puyallup, WA 98371 Phone: (253) 845-9770 Key Peninsula: (253) 884-9474 Fax: (253) 845-4569 Toll Free: (866) 845-9485 E-mail: info@piercecountycd.org |
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