Based on what I'm reading...

A Texas rancher cannot kill the animal on the ranch, cut it up himself, package it, and then sell those packages to the public. That on-farm commercial sale is still restricted.

They can take the animal to a state-inspected plant like this Panhandle Meat Processing place. If that plant processes it under Texas inspection, the rancher can then sell the packaged steaks and burger to customers inside Texas.

This Texas processing plant also cannot sell across state lines.

The Banned said:

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Logos Stick said:

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The Banned said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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I'm not a cattle guy, so excuse my ignorance. I can link web pages of several producers in my area who sell straight to consumers today. And I know of small local processers where I can take a steer today and get processed, and take the meat home.

What's the big difference?

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We've been buying meat this way for years.

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You have not. They cannot butcher and package meat they raise and directly sell it to you. You typically have to buy 1/4 (or more) live cow and get it processed by a 3rd party butcher.

If a rancher could take that animal to a small local plant, get it processed legal, and sell the packages himself, he could sell a couple steaks or five pounds of burger to whoever walks up.

He could reach a whole lot more people, farmers markets, farm stores, restaurants, even online.

He'd get paid more regular instead of hunting around for somebody willing to buy a quarter-cow. And he could compete a little with the big packers at the retail level instead of only selling the live animal.

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Gotcha. We always buy 1/2 a steer, so the idea of buying a few pounds at a time never really crossed my mind.

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I was wrong., See above.

You can also buy individual cuts, but the rancher has to first take it to a state of Texas licensed processor to have it butchered and processed, pay them for the processing and then they can sell it to you.

The trick here is how you do it. Currently, we sell ownership in the animal. You buy 1/4 or a half or whatever. The butcher comes out to the ranch, does his thing and you take home the meat for your own consumption. You didn't buy the meat from me. You bought ownership of the animal. You own half of my cow! So when it's butchered, you are simply taking what is already yours, but you 100% are NOT buying the meat from me.

So, with the EO, if I understand, I could basically process my entire herd and store all of it in freezers and Bobby Jo down the road can swing by after work and buy 2 hamburger patties.

Personally, I don't see that being a big deal or groundbreaking. That's a lot of pain in the ass.

Logos Stick has it pretty much correct. There are different types of processing with different forms of oversight.

1. Custom - Does not require government inspection. It must be custom processed for the owner/owners of the animal. The meat must be labeled as "Not for Sale" and may not enter commerce.

2. State Inspection - Oversight is provided by state governments (there are 29 states that have these programs, including Texas). This meat is allowed into commerce, but is not eligible for interstate shipment/sale.

3. Federal Inspection - This oversight is done by the federal government and the meat is eligible for interstate commerce.

All of this is clearly defined in the Federal Meat Inspection Act, which would have to be changed for Trump's idea to be implemented. Also, there is nothing at all preventing livestock producers from processing their own livestock for their personal use (just cannot sell the meat). I am aware that some of this happens on a very small scale at local farmer's markets; but occasionally there are crackdowns on this.

The benefits of having inspection oversight go beyond basic food safety and sanitation. They include consumers protections covering accurate weights and labeling, ensuring livestock is humanely slaughtered, and preventing animals showing signs of pathology/disease from entering the food supply.

BrazosDog02 said:

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The trick here is how you do it. Currently, we sell ownership in the animal. You buy 1/4 or a half or whatever. The butcher comes out to the ranch, does his thing and you take home the meat for your own consumption. You didn't buy the meat from me. You bought ownership of the animal. You own half of my cow! So when it's butchered, you are simply taking what is already yours, but you 100% are NOT buying the meat from me.

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Yah, I figured that was the loophole. Will ranchers being able to process it themselves really reduce cost? One would assume they'll want to get profit out of the processing no different than the local 3rd party processor.

you know who was pushing for this via PRIME Act?

Thomas Masssie.

The same guy that advocated for no tax on tips.

The PRIME Act was included in the House version of the Farm Bill this year I believe; but it is not included in the Senate's current version, which hasn't moved out of committee.

The Banned said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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The trick here is how you do it. Currently, we sell ownership in the animal. You buy 1/4 or a half or whatever. The butcher comes out to the ranch, does his thing and you take home the meat for your own consumption. You didn't buy the meat from me. You bought ownership of the animal. You own half of my cow! So when it's butchered, you are simply taking what is already yours, but you 100% are NOT buying the meat from me.

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Yah, I figured that was the loophole. Will ranchers being able to process it themselves really reduce cost? One would assume they'll want to get profit out of the processing no different than the local 3rd party processor.

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I don't know how it's going to reduce costs. Its a low profit deal no matter what. I've found that folks (in general) simply won't pay more for your product when they can just go to HEB and get it. We sell all manner of produce and farm products and I have regular customers but there is a limit to what they will pay. My butcher isn't going to charge me less, with feed/care of the animal, it will cost more for the end product. I guess I don't see how it's a huge deal. I would probably use such a thing as a 6th income stream. Not a gamechanger, but nice. It's more profitable for me to haul them to auction and I don't have to screw with it much.

BrazosDog02 said:

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The Banned said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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The trick here is how you do it. Currently, we sell ownership in the animal. You buy 1/4 or a half or whatever. The butcher comes out to the ranch, does his thing and you take home the meat for your own consumption. You didn't buy the meat from me. You bought ownership of the animal. You own half of my cow! So when it's butchered, you are simply taking what is already yours, but you 100% are NOT buying the meat from me.

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Yah, I figured that was the loophole. Will ranchers being able to process it themselves really reduce cost? One would assume they'll want to get profit out of the processing no different than the local 3rd party processor.

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I don't know how it's going to reduce costs. Its a low profit deal no matter what. I've found that folks (in general) simply won't pay more for your product when they can just go to HEB and get it. We sell all manner of produce and farm products and I have regular customers but there is a limit to what they will pay. My butcher isn't going to charge me less, with feed/care of the animal, it will cost more for the end product. I guess I don't see how it's a huge deal. I would probably use such a thing as a 6th income stream. Not a gamechanger, but nice. It's more profitable for me to haul them to auction and I don't have to screw with it much.

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That's what I figured. Only reason we purchase at least 1/2 a steer is for the pricing break. Buying by the pound anywhere other than the big stores really adds up

Free Market competition is good and in the end is always better but no system is perfect.

AgLA06 said:

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Ok. This can be great for the average person not in a city.

So now the real question. How do you do this without losing oversite to health and safety. Because I don't think the average person on here understands what inspected facilities have to go through in time, cost, and requirements.

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Simple answer is education for the cattle ranchers. If they want to stay in business they will produce quality meat. If they sell to a retailer, like HEB, then the burden shifts to HEB that they are reselling quality meat. Don't need a bunch of government employees looking over everyone's shoulder and adding regulation. If you want to stay in business, ranchers and supermarkets, you do your due diligence. That's the beauty of capitalism. You protect your livelihood and compete at the highest level.

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Free Market competition is good and in the end is always better but no system is perfect.

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This is the answer. Whether it takes off and booms with success or phases out like homebrew, it is a win for individual freedom.

I really don't see how this is going to help ranchers. 99.9% of small operators do not have the facilities or equipment to slaughter/process beef, and the cost of those things will prevent them from starting from scratch. The .1% that have some of the facilities and equipment are probably using it for wild game which isn't ideal for beef processing.

Like others have said, your local state inspected plants have been doing this for ranchers for decades, that's why they are inspected instead of custom exempt, so their customers can resell beef. There are also several small, federally inspected plants throughout the state if a guy wanted to sell across state lines.

Or you could just sell beef online. Online sales are considered a retail sale at your place of business. Just because the buyer is going to take that beef to Kansas (because you are shipping it to them), they bought it in Texas

There is some logic to your "simple answer," but put yourself in HEB's or any other retailer's position. Would you rather buy meat to put your brand on that says USDA Inspected and Passed or meat from a rancher you trust. With inspected meat, you have, in addition to whatever specification the retailer wants to put in place, a third party (USDA) verification of the safety and wholesomeness. Also, a single HEB store sells more beef in a day than a local cattle producer could produce in a year. I have spent my career helping family owned processors navigate meat inspection issues. Being under continuous inspection is very challenging, but it prevents processors from getting complacent or lackadaisical with their food safety programs.

Our beef industry has evolved into a very complex entity; and simplistic efforts to change it usually fail.

Hey, there would be less of a chance for 400,000 lb ground beef recalls by spreading the processing around.

Competition and less gov't control seems to be needed once governments become too huge (now).

I would guess the Cooperative way for heavy beef-cattle areas would be the way to go. It can work extremely well if done right. Lots of men in suits making millions ALWAYS while other men with dirty hands have to get lucky.

What's absolutely remarkable to me with Trump's team, they are attacking so many things at once.

CanyonAg77 said:

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I'm not a cattle guy, so excuse my ignorance. I can link web pages of several producers in my area who sell straight to consumers today. And I know of small local processers where I can take a steer today and get processed, and take the meat home.

What's the big difference?

EDIT: https://www.panhandlemeatprocessing.com/

Their web site says inspected by the State of Texas, but not USDA

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. I know two Ags doing this now.

gkaggie08 said:

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I really don't see how this is going to help ranchers. 99.9% of small operators do not have the facilities or equipment to slaughter/process beef, and the cost of those things will prevent them from starting from scratch. The .1% that have some of the facilities and equipment are probably using it for wild game which isn't ideal for beef processing.

Like others have said, your local state inspected plants have been doing this for ranchers for decades, that's why they are inspected instead of custom exempt, so their customers can resell beef. There are also several small, federally inspected plants throughout the state if a guy wanted to sell across state lines.

Or you could just sell beef online. Online sales are considered a retail sale at your place of business. Just because the buyer is going to take that beef to Kansas (because you are shipping it to them), they bought it in Texas

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. You have to hook up with a processing company.

gkaggie08 said:

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I really don't see how this is going to help ranchers. 99.9% of small operators do not have the facilities or equipment to slaughter/process beef, and the cost of those things will prevent them from starting from scratch. The .1% that have some of the facilities and equipment are probably using it for wild game which isn't ideal for beef processing.

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Could you see a scenario where local Co-Ops start popping up all over?

Im aware, but you can go to a state inspected facility, who are usually easier to work with, and then sell that inspected product online

Not really, like I said, there are state and federally inspected slaughter facilities dotted all over the state of Texas.

To build a facility that could slaughter and process at scale (10-20 beef per week), you are probably looking at close to $1 mil at minimum

AgLA06 said:

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Ok. This can be great for the average person not in a city.

So now the real question. How do you do this without losing oversite to health and safety. Because I don't think the average person on here understands what inspected facilities have to go through in time, cost, and requirements.

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Pretty simple - if the ranchers want to stay in business, they will ensure that they produce a good product that doesn't give people the squirts or kill them.

I have several local ranchers that sell their beef direct to consumers down here. Started going with them recently versus HEB. A little more expensive but I figured I'd give them my business and help keep a local entity's doors open.

There is one major effort underway near Amarillo. Called Producer Owned Beef, LLC it is being built by a group of rancher investors. My understanding is that each producer has to commit to provide a specific number of fed cattle per month/year. The facility is under construction and planned opening in 2028 with a capacity of 3,000 head per day and employing 1,600 people. It will be interesting to see if it succeeds. It is a very ambitious project. It's not exactly a small cooperative; but it is a similar concept.

edit to add link: Producer Owned Beef

IndividualFreedom said:

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Right now, a guy who is a hobby farmer with 50 head of Cattle, can't afford to set up a processing plan for that few of Head of animals. Even a 300 Animal guy can't do it. So at that point, I think it becomes community based. Regardless, I'm excited to see this.

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I agree at some level, but disagree more.

Corporate level hunting trips..... we have all done them. So you shoot your animal, drive into the small country town, and fill out the toe tag information at the small galvanize siding processing house. Nothing too crazy, just quarters, select cuts, ground and sausage. You take a look inside and it is stainless steel everything, a walk in cooler and some aprons. A man and a sharp knife that has a name.

There are also the private hunting lodges with amazing processing kitchens.

Give this thing 10 years and it will be huge with livestock. When the democrats take over, they will process the horses because that is par for course.

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If they go grab the wild horses out west and on the plains - all for it. At least make dog and cat food out of them.

gkaggie08 said:

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Not really, like I said, there are state and federally inspected slaughter facilities dotted all over the state of Texas.

To build a facility that could slaughter and process at scale (10-20 beef per week), you are probably looking at close to $1 mil at minimum

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Gotcha.

But that doesnt seem like a huge investment. If you finance that cost, it wouldn't take a very large amount of processing to be net positive.

Im also wondering how this helps in other regards. Does it give ranchers more options for their cattle? Rather than selling off at auction, would it give them the freedom to piece out small amounts of cattle for capital year round, in smaller amounts as needed? (or is that already feasible)

This isn't my world, so I appreciate the explanations.

The Banned said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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I'm not a cattle guy, so excuse my ignorance. I can link web pages of several producers in my area who sell straight to consumers today. And I know of small local processers where I can take a steer today and get processed, and take the meat home.

What's the big difference?

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We've been buying meat this way for years. Not sure how allowing farmers to do the processing themselves is going to provide a radical new service that wasn't already available.

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Here's the thing though - it really isn't readily available in a whole lot of areas. Farming and ranching has always been a staple in the county I grew up in, but until recently there were only the usual fare of your family owned meat processors that you could take a steer or calf to, but all of them combined wouldn't have the capability to process a trailer of cattle at once.

One of the good things about facebook is that smaller mom and pop producers can get their names out there. I wouldn't have known about the handful in my area now that I can buy direct from were it not for facebook and their ability to advertise.

PaulsBunions said:

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Country of origin labeling next please

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I am 100% on this, especially with seafood. I'll go even further and want to see whether it is wild caught or farm raised in addition to country of origin.

Serious Lee said:

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good trump

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Why? Does an executive order like this really mean anything? Has he openly and clearly advocated for passage of something like the Prime Act?

AgGrad99 said:

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Maybe.

But if it's directly from producer to consumer, you eliminate distributor costs, transportation, etc.

Curious to see how this plays out after the dust settles.

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Kinda like that $16 a pound 85/15 ground beef from the image above your post.

Makes sense.

I don't think it gives ranchers any more options than what they have now, especially smaller producers. You can't put calves on the shelf to sell later. They are always growing, and there is a window that they need to go to market. For most smaller producers, that window is going to be about 60-90 days to sell everything they aren't keeping back as replacements

As long as the facilities are inspected, I have no issues. Think of some of the worst case scenarios for "processing facilities"……yeah, I want inspections there like I do HEB.

Texas12&0 said:

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AgLA06 said:

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Ok. This can be great for the average person not in a city.

So now the real question. How do you do this without losing oversite to health and safety. Because I don't think the average person on here understands what inspected facilities have to go through in time, cost, and requirements.

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Simple answer is education for the cattle ranchers. If they want to stay in business they will produce quality meat. If they sell to a retailer, like HEB, then the burden shifts to HEB that they are reselling quality meat. Don't need a bunch of government employees looking over everyone's shoulder and adding regulation. If you want to stay in business, ranchers and supermarkets, you do your due diligence. That's the beauty of capitalism. You protect your livelihood and compete at the highest level.

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This is niave at best. I hope. See the post above about reality of the food industry and inspection requirements.

We absolutly need goverment oversite to ensure an even playing field across facilities and verification of safe food handling pracitices. And we especially need the ability to trace evertying accordingly when the inevitable issue (mad cow, bacterial contamination, foreign objects incorproated, etc.) recalls or health outbrakes happen.

Like most posts on this board 97% of the people typing have little to no undestanding of the topic. Outside of co-ops popping up that will still have to abide by inspection and health guidelines and the incurred costs (in inspectors, QA personnel, equipment, and facility cleaning, etc.) it most likely won't change much, if anything in pricing to consumers.

Where it could change something is attempting to break pricing controls of the big houses. But in the end like most similar attempts of deregulation, it just allows others to participate at the same higher pricing (if they can find the financing to play).

I'm in the food commodity industry and ***** regularly about the costs, impacts, and general PITA the various certification and inspections requirements impact all kinds of products. But they are there for a reason.

B-1 83 said:

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As long as the facilities are inspected, I have no issues. Think of some of the worst case scenarios for "processing facilities"……yeah, I want inspections there like I do HEB.

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What if I want to buy from someone who has not been inspected by those you approve of? Why do I need your approval for this? Make it clear to consumers/buyers what the facts and risks are and let them decide.

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Like most posts on this board 97% of the people typing have little to no undestanding of the topic.

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Well thank God we have you and and everyone else to take care of us and to look over for us for our safety.

gkaggie08 said:

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Not really, like I said, there are state and federally inspected slaughter facilities dotted all over the state of Texas.

To build a facility that could slaughter and process at scale (10-20 beef per week), you are probably looking at close to $1 mil at minimum

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Zero in my county. Everything has to be shipped somewhere else for processing, then shipped back.

I can definitely see a coop forming amongst the legacy ranchers for processing local if the costs can make it happen. Or I can see one of the local custom processors deciding that getting a state license is now worth it.

Ag83 said:

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What if I want to buy from someone who has not been inspected by those you approve of? Why do I need your approval for this? Make it clear to consumers/buyers what the facts and risks are and let them decide.

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Agreed. Swim at your own risk has worked for generations. I'm good with it.