Where’s the meat? Solving a bottleneck in the meat supply chain that is essential for farmers’ profitability

Many ranchers who raise beef, pork, etc. – along with the small grains and pastures that feed them – can make very reliable profits by marketing their animals directly to consumers who understand the farmer’s practices and care for the animals and appreciate the country. However, for this to work, we need local locker factories nearby to slaughter and process animals to order.

With the COVID-19 closures of major factories, the lack of local butchers in the meat processing industry was telling. Large ranchers took advantage of available processing options as an alternative to euthanizing their surplus stock — to the point where animals had to be slaughtered up to a year in advance.

For example, my customers couldn’t process the animals they wanted to buy, and a number of farmers were left with the limited choice of selling animals in depressed markets with rock bottom prices.

Despite a smooth supply of meat from farmers, the closure of the major factories and the lack of local butchers created a bottleneck in the supply chain, while demand increased. The farmers received very low prices for their animals, while consumers were confronted with sky-high prices and empty shelves. This was a lose/lose situation and it could happen again.

As part of a team of unique researchers working with the Minnesota Farmers Union, the University of Minnesota Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, the Minnesota Association of Meat Processors, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and others, we decided to address this “bottleneck to research”. ” in local meat processing capacity in Minnesota to find out what the problems were for local butchers and what could be done to help. We interviewed 57 small to medium-sized lockers in all corners of Minnesota to ask their owners for their opinion.

We have been informed that there is a serious shortage of skilled workers in this sector. The work is physical, requires long hours and requires a high degree of skill. Not everyone is cut out to be a butcher (no pun intended). Most locker owners were willing and able to teach new hires the intricacies of slaughter, especially if the apprentice had basic knowledge and a strong work ethic. However, key business skills needed to own and manage a business were best taught in more formal training.

We also learned that many local lockers close permanently when owners ready to retire cannot find a buyer. Again, that’s a lose-lose scenario for both farmers and consumers buying local food. Most of the successful business transitions we examined took place within a family, with an existing employee, or with expert outside help from local development authorities.

Our team worked with the Latino Economic Development Center to interview Latinos and other immigrant workers who already work in Minnesota’s larger slaughterhouses. We noticed that many were eager to expand their opportunities by managing or owning their own locker factory. However, they faced additional obstacles, such as language barriers or credit history issues, that prevented them from pursuing their dreams—dreams that would help solve the shortage of workers and buyers of local lockers in Minnesota.

We’ve published a 38-page report packed with data, stories and recommendations to support and grow the local meat processing industry. The report is available here on the website of the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture of the U of M.

We are committed to working with many partners to put our recommendations into practice: apprenticeships for willing employees; programs to overcome the special barriers our hard-working immigrant communities face; and advice and assistance for existing locker owners seeking a buyer when they retire.

As a rancher committed to the highest standard of individual care for my land and animals, I know that if we succeed in addressing the meat processing bottleneck, farmers who market their livestock directly to market will thrive by being able to meet to the rapidly growing demand for local meat via local lockers.

My community, along with many other rural communities, will benefit from a constant food supply that is more resilient to the kind of disruption COVID-19 has brought to all of us. Seems like a win/win to me.