Poultry Meat Processing: Choosing an Approach for your Farm

By Ann Baier, NCAT Agriculture Specialist

Abstract

This publication offers a brief overview of federal poultry processing inspection requirements and criteria for exemption. It includes questions and examples to guide producers in deciding between available options for how birds move from farm to final customer. It also provides a list of resources for additional information.

Contents

The Role of Regulations
Processing in a USDA-licensed Plant with Federal Inspection
Processing Under Exemption from USDA Inspection
Processing in a State-Inspected Plant; Regulations Vary State-to-State
Processing On-Farm or in a Farmer-Managed Facility
Summary
Further Resources

Choose an Approach to Poultry Processing that is Appropriate for Your Farm

Processing poultry in a way that is legal, sanitary, humane, practical, and appropriate for your farm depends on several factors:

• the species (“amenable” poultry vs. other, “non-amenable,” species of birds)
• scale of production (number of birds processed per year)
• customers or marketing channels (direct-to-consumer, retail, or wholesale)
• location where birds are produced vs. sold (within or beyond state or territory lines)
• farm business priorities, human resources, and personal goals.

In weighing options, it is important to become familiar with federal and state inspection exemptions, as well as local laws. Prepare to comply with the most restrictive laws that apply to your operation. Also, make connections with other farmers in your region or in wider networks, so that you can talk with them to learn about approaches to processing, their experience with different processing plants or, simply, where to buy equipment and supplies.

Here are some example poultry-processing scenarios:

1. A producer raises small batches of broiler chickens to assess how a poultry enterprise may fit with their whole-farm workflow and marketing plan. They invest in equipment (kill cones, scalder, plucker, ice bath, stainless steel table, and knives) to set up an on-farm processing facility to process birds for direct sale to consumers. As they grow the business, they can meet the criteria for federal inspection exemption (Producer Grower or Other Person <20,000 birds per year limit). However, their state’s stricter regulations (see specifics in the section below) limit slaughter to 1,000 birds per year (unless they use only family labor or sell all their production directly from the farm). Although the farm crew is skilled, the stamina required for the work is significant, and long processing days take a toll on their quality of life.
2. A farmer raises a few thousand broilers per year for direct local markets. The processing is humane, efficient, and sanitary. Recordkeeping fulfills criteria for exemption from federal and state inspection. To grow their business to support full-time on-farm employment, however, they need to produce more than 20,000 birds per year and also sell to stores. So, they invest in poultry transport crates and a reliable vehicle to carry the birds a 2.5-hour drive to the nearest USDA-inspected plant that does fee-for-service processing for independent producers. They pick up production in a refrigerated truck, delivering fresh product to their customers that can now include restaurants, stores, and distributors. They also need cold storage capacity to even out the supply and demand.
3. Another farmer added a quail meat enterprise to their diversified vegetable operation. Quail, as non-amenable species, could be processed in a state-licensed plant. However, the nearest such plant is several hours away and has a processing minimum of 250 birds per batch, which is beyond the scale of their marketing and storage capacity on their farm. They instead set up on-farm processing, meeting criteria for exemption from state inspection requirements.
4. A mid-sized operation wants to sell duck meat to a specialty market. They develop a schedule to produce and process the birds at a state-licensed processing plant. They coordinate production with the duckling hatchery, capacity of their land and labor, the minimum number of birds that the plant will process, and the volume of birds their main customer has committed to buy. If orders vary or are skipped, any extra state-inspected birds may be sold through a local distributor, but only within the state, not across state lines. That works, because they live in the middle of a large state.

This publication offers a brief overview of federal inspection requirements and criteria for exemption, and it poses questions to guide your decision-making process about how birds move from farm to final customer. Resources include links to government agencies and regulations, Cooperative Extension, and nonprofit organizations that provide regulatory and technical information, research/case studies, and opportunities for peer learning, mentorship, and grants.

The Role of Regulations

or poultry meat to be used for human consumption, federal regulations state that birds must be: healthy when slaughtered; processed under sanitary conditions, wholesome, not adulterated, and accurately represented to the customer with proper marking, labeling, and packaging. These essential provisions of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) apply no matter where birds are processed. Poultry may:

1. be inspected in a USDA plant with federal inspection; or
2. qualify for an exemption from federal, USDA inspection.

If exempt, processing may take place:

1. in a state-licensed facility; or
2. by the producer, on-farm or in their own facility, when criteria for exemption from both USDA inspection and state inspection are met.

Whether an operation is inspected or exempt from federal inspection, it must comply with all other applicable federal, state, and local regulations for poultry production, processing, and sales, including, but not limited to, these: zoning, permits, licenses, labeling, environmental health, retail food laws, employee health and safety, water supply, waste disposal, and wastewater management. All poultry labeling must include the name and address of the processor (responsibility statement), and safe handling instructions.