Washington State Department of Agriculture. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Animal Health Program is charged with protecting animals and the public from communicable animal diseases. The WSDA Food Safety Program licenses custom meat businesses to slaughter or process uninspected meat food animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and swine for the sole consumption of the owner.
Public Sale of Meat. All meat for public sale is inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in compliance with the federal Meat Inspection Act. USDA delegated to WSDA authority to conduct meat inspections for certain facilities that only slaughter or prepare meat for consumption by the owner of the animal. USDA also delegated authority to WSDA to allow for the slaughter, preparation, and sale of 1000 or fewer birds per calendar year.
Custom Meat. Custom farm slaughterers, custom slaughtering establishments, and custom meat facilities must be licensed by WSDA. Before issuing any license to operate as a custom farm slaughterer, custom slaughtering establishment, and a custom meat facility, WSDA must inspect the facility and equipment. Custom farm slaughterers are mobile slaughter units to prepare meat food animals for the consumption of the owner of the animals, done on the owner's farm or at an approved site. A custom slaughtering establishment is a fixed facility to slaughter meat food animals for the owner. A custom meat facility is a facility operated by a person licensed to prepare uninspected meat for the sole consumption of the owner.
Conservation Commission and Conservation Districts. The Conservation Commission (Commission) was created by the Legislature in 1939 to support conservation districts (districts) through financial and technical assistance, administrative and operational oversight, program coordination, and promotion of district activities and services. The Commission has several duties, including to assist the supervisors of districts, keep the supervisors of each district informed of the activities and experiences of other districts, and facilitate an exchange of advice and experience between districts. Districts work with landowners on a voluntary basis, providing incentive-based conservation help on private lands.
The Meat and Poultry Processing and Marketing Assistance Program is created to assist small and mid-size farms and small and mid-size processors in exploring options to expand capacity for processing meat or meat and poultry for sale and direct marketing efforts. In carrying out this duty, the program must:assist farms in complying with federal, state, and local rules and regulations as they apply to direct marketing of meat and poultry products;
WSDA must work with USDA to negotiate a cooperative agreement in order to operate a state inspection program. WSDA must collect data on program activities, including information related to meat and poultry processing facility needs and information related to those negotiations, and report to the Legislature by December 31, 2021. The Commission must establish a grant program to provide funding to districts to provide access to meat and poultry processing and inspection within the district. Grant funding may be used to establish a mobile slaughter unit in the district or to provide needed infrastructure to provide for the retail sale of meat or poultry.
The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: The pandemic impacted food distribution streams and this bill will provide more access for consumers to obtain protein and also provide a good outlet for producers. This bill will change the way that a small farmer can provide their product to the public and send the product to market. Farmers have to travel several hours to have their beef processed and mobile slaughter facilities will help farmers provide a better product. Consumers want to buy individual packages from their local farmers. This bill will give producers the opportunity to set prices for their product and sell their product on an individualized basis through direct marketing. Bringing a good, safe state inspection program will greatly increase Washington's food security. This bill will provide more outlets for producers to get their meat processed and will provide more sources and opportunities for consumers to access locally grown and inspected protein for their families. A state-based inspection program will create another option for farmers to process their meat, which ensures that their animals are being processed on time.
CON: For many small-scale operations, the USDA system is too cumbersome and time consuming. Creating a WSDA system will do little to resolve those issues. Custom exempt processors would have to upgrade their facilities to meet the federal requirements under a state program, not currently feasible for most processors. There are not enough processors to meet demand—they are aging out and their equipment is outdated, and this bill does not address this problem. There needs to be training programs and financial and educational help for processors who want to improve their facilities to meet USDA standards.
OTHER: This bill will establish a state program equivalent to USDA's inspection program, with a 50 percent federal match once the program is approved, which will take about two years. The bill recognizes that access to meat processing is a critical barrier to the success and growth of farms in the state. Small meat processors have been operating in aging buildings, without funding to invest in new meat cutting equipment, while also struggling to find and keep skilled staff. The way to help farmers is to increase access to and capacity of small processors by providing grants for upgraded equipment and infrastructure needs, as well as business and technical assistance, and subsidizing on-the-job training programs.
PRO: Thank you for sponsoring a bill focused on a situation that has an immediate need. There is a need for greater access to meat processing services. We need grant money to go to private businesses to assist them in processing meat. We support the bill, we need more protein to get to the consumer.
OTHER: We need an increase in capacity for small and medium sized meat producers. Very pleased this bill is thoughtful about addressing the most immediate needs such as, access to processing facilities, technical assistance to processors, and education and training.