Slaughterhouses on Wheels Come to the Aid of Small Farms

02 August 2010

Workers guide a quartered section of a cow in the Central Coast Agriculture Cooperative's mobile slaughterhose on the Poett Ranch near Lompoc, California, in July 2009

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

One of the great American success stories after World War Two was the rise of industrial farming. But now small is big. People who say they worry about their food and their environment are looking for locally grown produce from small farms.

Local meat producers want a piece of the action. But small farmers often have a difficult time getting their animals to market. Many cannot pay the cost of a large slaughterhouse.

Also, the number of slaughterhouses in the United States has decreased sharply since the nineteen eighties. Some small farmers have to travel long distances to have their animals killed and processed.

Workers clean outside the Central Coast Agriculture Cooperative's mobile slaughterhose

But now if a farmer cannot get to the slaughterhouse, the slaughterhouse may come to the farmer.

The United States Department of Agriculture, the USDA, is helping farmers to pay for and operate mobile slaughter units. These are trucks and trailers equipped to do the job, including inspection. A federal inspector travels with the unit.

Last September the USDA announced a sixty-five million dollar program called "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food." The aim is to support local farmers, rural communities and healthy eating. As part of that effort, officials are trying to spread the word about mobile slaughter units.