MEAT PROCESSING STUDY

Federal Government Supporting Small Producers

The federal government’s investments in farm animal slaughter and processing projects is laudable. It has acknowledged that the playing field for small producers of domestic meat products is not level with large suppliers that have ready access to large meatpacking plants and corporate-funded food supply networks.

South Texas small farmers wish to do their part to feed Texas and feed other communities in the U.S. They take pride in raising their animals knowing that they will play such a critical role in our food system. They take pride in producing excellent domestically raised meat products. They take pride in continuing the practice of agriculture in an era when farming families are continuously tempted to give up their lands to urbanization.

Hispanic farmers comprise the majority of small farm owners in the South Texas area of study of 25 counties. As a result, they are disproportionately burdened by the lack of local access to government-inspected services. Thus, there is urgency to support farmers that collaborate to plan and invest together to address this disparity and increase the supply of locally harvested proteins for Texas and American consumers. This USDA-funded study is offered to provide market insights and regional considerations for new and sustainable processing services.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was performed thanks to the financial support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture award under Agreement AM21RFSPTX1011-00 to Padilla Farms LLC under the Regional Food Systems Partnership (RFSP) of the American Marketing Service (AMS).

Soluciones Consulting, the author of the study, thanks the producers that completed and submitted the anonymous bilingual surveys where they shared their needs, insights, and views. Without their voices, this work would not have been complete to verify the lack of access to government-inspection services in South Texas. Their input gave confidence to the conclusions and opportunities for producer collaboration set forth to resolve the challenge to improve access.

The author thanks proprietors of existing processing facilities. They readily provided feedback on the business of harvesting services for farmers, ranchers, and hunters. Their support for the research for this study was appreciated and their commitment to their customers was impressive.

The author thanks professionals from organizations, colleges, and businesses that serve the farming sector for their guidance, encouragement, and suggestions for this project. The author thanks staff of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), and the Meat Safety Assurance Section of the Texas Department of State Health Services for responding to the author’s call for information and guidance.

Lastly, the author thanks Padilla Farms LLC for entrusting Soluciones with the formidable task to conduct this study that is intended to support any current or future collaborative efforts in South Texas to establish new slaughter and processing services. Padilla Farms and the other small producers proposed to AMS-USDA that this work be conducted because of a long-standing inequitable lack of access that disproportionately burdens smaller-scale farmers and ranchers.

The market study is intended to be useful for farmers, collaboratives, investors, and decision-makers evaluating regional gaps in access to services that disproportionately harm smaller agricultural producers. The aim is that the work will lead to proactive financial and governmental support for projects and collaboratives. With such support, producers can focus on producing and move from concept to construction and operation of new meat processing establishments in South Texas.

If you have any questions, please contact Salomon Torres, Soluciones Consulting, at 956-341-5202 or salomontorres22@gmail.com.