Check out our Kickstarting the Butcher Shop project running from March 30th to May 15th on Kickstarter. We’re raising additional funds as we go into the final phase of construction of the butcher shop. See the video at the link above, pledge from a $1 to $10,000 and get great rewards ranging from T-shirts to ivory tusks to a decade of pick of the pig of pork!
We are building our own USDA/State inspected on-farm slaughterhouse and butcher shop. Read about our progress:
- 2008-04-21 — Butcher retiring
- 2008-04-28 — We met with State
- 2009-03 — USDA HACCP Training
- 2009-06 — Permits completed!
- 2009-07 — Hay shed down
- 2009-08 — Underground electric
- 2009-09 — Super-insulated foundation
- 2009-10 — Wall forms up
- 2009-11-15 — First Announcement
- 2010-08 — Project update
- 2010-11 — Walls topped
- 2011-08 — Reefer slab plumbed
- 2011-11 — Reefer Ceilings Poured
- Butcher Shop Posts — All posts
Since banks have not been lending we are bootstrapping the construction from our savings, farm’s cash flow, sale of assets like our dump truck and selling CSA Pre-Buys where customers get free processing in exchange for buying early and generous loans from several area business, customers and other individuals. On the CSA Pre-Buys we offer our labor and you save 30% off the cost of a pig. This is a great way for you to save big on your food budget and support local farms. We are also doing a Kickstarting the Butcher Shop project on Kickstarter.com. Check it out and see the video of our farm as you find out how you can help support our project and get our delicious meat shipped to you.
Due to regulatory and insurance complexities we will initially just be processing our own livestock. Once we have the facility completely finished and everything running smoothly we’ll be able to look at doing livestock for other farms, perhaps first processing for people who buy summer piglets from us to raise themselves. In the mean time, if you are looking for commercial or custom processing for your livestock we highly recommend Adams Farm Slaughter in Athol, Mass. They do a wonderful job with humane slaughter, meat cutting and smoking. We have been very pleased with their work and I highly recommend them. For on-farm butchering I highly recommend master butcher Cole Ward who can come to your place and cut your meat for you.
While we won’t initially do processing for other farms at this time, our project benefits other farmers since it frees up 500 to 1,000 processing slots a year helping to relieve the regional meat processing bottleneck.
Another benefit for other farmers is we are paving the way for how small farms can build very small, even nano-scale, inspected processing facilities because I share information. In fact, the Sugar Mountain Farm butcher shop has been chosen for the Open Source Ecology project.
See the butcher shop articles on this blog as well as those about marketing and meat labeling.
If you’re looking to open your own meat processing facility start with your state department of agriculture meat inspection and the FSIS USDA Very Small Plant Outreach web site.
I am a member of the Molalla, Oregon City Council and candidate for Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, Position 3. I have been, and continue to be supportive of all efforts to maximize Community Supported Agriculture, and I’m very impressed with your achievements at Sugar Mountain, Vermont! I don’t know if there is yet a national coalition of Community Supported Agriculture advocates, but if there isn’t there should be! If so, I would love to become a member/supporter!
Is the RTE kitchen which I assume is a heat source, being in the “cold zone” going against all the superinsulation efforts of the overall building?
Good catch, Ryan. The RTE kitchen is a sometimes warm, sometimes cool area. The heating portions (smokehouse, ovens, etc) are located outside of the super insulated reefer section to the south in Admin. The cooler functions such as slicing bacon, packaging, etc will be done in the RTE kitchen itself. In all probability there may be a cook stove in the RTE kitchen unless I figure out how to do those functions in the smokehouse – possible. Otherwise venting will be key.
An update on this. Will and I have figure out a way we might move more of the heat out of the RTE kitchen such that we end up with a warm kitchen and a cool kitchen. Turns out the inside of the building is bigger than the outside. :-) Stay tuned.
I just found your website online Walter. We share the same passion, farming. I am very interested in your own butcher shop. Their isnt a USDA butcher shop in my county. I need the USDA to sell our lamb and pork at the market. (I am told). I live in the Sandy River Valley in Avon, Maine. (Western Maine mountains). I pastures my pigs (Tamworth-Large Black crosses) on the side of the mountain this year on a rotational system. We are small scale (35 Katahdin Sheep, 5 breeding pigs) Grain prices for pigs just jumped $40 a ton. We buy Non GMO grain from a local producer in Farmington. Looking at ways to feed pigs with out going broke and get our meat prices down so people can buy them locally. Love to hear what other farmers are trying and what works and doesnt. The butcher house is a great concept.
Darren, I’m in Farmington and in the same situation as you. We’re raising pigs and want to start selling meat. As I understand it, as long as you sell “in state” you only need a state inspected butcher shop. (which is hard to find as well) We’re feeding bagged pellets and I’m curious where I can buy grain locally. We have been raising pigs for family and friends and will be breeding two sows for the first time this month. Walter, Great site. Lots of good information. I too like the concept of your own slaughter house.
This new farm bill in the lameduck session of congress will put me, thee, and everyone else out of business. It’s important we get hold of our congresspersons and tell them to stop it.
Yes, see here and here. They’re trying to take away our rights to farm and food. Government at its finest.
I see s510 has cleared the first hurdle. My congress people voted for it (aaarrggghhh). I loathe overeaching government, the more they try to help, the more harm they do.
Ron, I buy purina pellets from and the mash from a local producer. The mash I add my own nutrients. I love the fall, summer and Spring months I put my pigs in about 2 acres and they forage for themselves. In the winter its very difficult to do that. I move them to the barn for the winter. (I dont like it). They have access to the outside, same as all the animals.
Ron can you email me? Interested in what youve done info@votervalefarm.com
Walter,
We are trying to get started here on a butcher shop. What are the added expenses having it USDA inspected and licensed??
The USDA Inspection License isn’t a big additional cost. The cost is simply in being inspect-able – that is building to their standards. The recommendation from both our state and the USDA was to start with state inspected and then move to USDA inspected. The requirements are the same but the state offices are more accessible to those just getting started so it makes for a logical stepping path.
Hello,
I just found your website! It’s great! Ihave a farm with about 51 pigs. We are hoping to start a small scale slaughtering/butchering shop. Any suggustions would be greatly appreciate.
Thanks
Charlen
We’re working our way along this path too. Check out the tag cloud in the right sidebar and look at the Butcher Shop section. Also follow the links on the Butcher Shop page (the menu above). It is an adventure and worth it.
This is such an amazing project. Please keep posting about it. I love watching you work. It’s like a virtual construction site with peep holes!
Just found your site. I am rather impressed and encouraged seeing your farm and future butcher shop. I live in Southern California and have had to go north, way north, to find organic grass fed meats.
I think the more word gets out that there is an alternative to “factory meats” the more of a demand will help with costs and politics.
May I add you to my blog?
Bless Bless
Viking Mom
Sure thing.
I completely agree with what you said on the Grist page about the myth of the Urban Landscape. I currently live in an ex-urb of NYC and I can tell you how we have carved up the land, air and water to support communities of people who commute to work in NYC. We are part of this black scape you speak of. We hope to move one day… Happy farming to you and your family, C Sander
Are their any ethenol plants in your general area? Their after-product is essentially spent brewers grain.
Not that I know of. This isn’t a big corn area. The corn that is grown goes to feed dairy cows, generally on the same farm it is grown on.
looks like business is booming in the green mountain state. look forward to trying of you top quality pork
Just a thought: Since you guys are trying to get money together for your nano-slaughter house which has the potential to help change industry, you may want to try to appeal to the world through Kickstarter.com. The website is essentially dedicated to hosting the petitions of people looking for help to accomplish a variety of things like starting up businesses, raising money to bring the arts to locals, educating the masses, etc. From the looks of it, people are incredibly responsive, especially when it comes to causes that have the potential to serve the greater good. The following are just a few:
Fully Funded : http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/padrepollo/padre-pollos-holy-smoke-barbecue?ref=card
A fundraising work in progress: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/405310140/whitelock-community-farm?ref=category
Another fundraising work in progress: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bucklandfarm/a-well-for-our-heritage-breed-pig-farrowing-center?ref=card
If you can manage, try and post a video.
Several people have suggested Kickstarter and I contacted them twice but they weren’t interested.
I also contacted SlowMoney which turned out to have NoMoney – they “wanted me to donate to them so they could then donate some of that to people like me.”
Banks and government loans were also no-go. Banks said, “They’re not lending to new or expanding businesses at this time” despite all the money President Obama gave them precisely for that purpose. The government said we’re too small to bother with. They wanted bigger projects.
Fortunately we have been able to get funding through our own farm’s cash flow, through customers who have bought CSA Pre-Buys, through local businesses who offered us vastly extended terms on materials and through individuals who have provided small and large loans towards our project. The lovely part about this is it is real people who loaned to us and it is to real people that we are paying interest. The middlemen, the bankers, were cut out of this loop. The people who have loaned to us thus got much higher returns (interest) than they could get at a bank and we got a lower interest rate (cost of borrowing) than any bank would have given. It has been very much a win-win for both us and those generous people who lent directly to us.
Great stuff here Walter, I will follow your progress with interest.
I am farming pure Tamworth here in Souther Oregon, and am in the process of establishing our own butcher shop and custom processing facility under state inspection.
With regards your post above I had two suggestions:
1. Kickstarter is not an organization that will of itself be “interested” in supporting your venture, hence why you got the response you did. They only facilitate you reaching out via their site to people you know… and word of mouth… to source essentially free money. You could for example have all of us visiting here donate 5 or 10 bucks just to be on your email list…
I’d suggest you take another closer look, it’s a great resource.
2. Slow Money – as a national organization IS looking for money and members to do what it does – coordinate and facilitate. We just attended their 3rd annual gathering, this year in San Francisco. We saw scores of business people like you (and us!) knee deep in the rural/food world stand up and present in front of a room full of potential investors. This also occurs at the State and local level too. Here’s your local contact: Tom Stearns ~ info@slowmoneyvermont.org
Drop him a line, he’ll help hook you up…
Best wishes and thanks for sharing the experience via this blog,
Jonathan
Iron Age Farm
Ore
They had said they had no interest in our project because it was a business (kickstarter) and they had no money (Slow Money). Their response was: “Thanks for writing in and sharing your idea. Kickstarter is a platform for projects rooted in the creative arts that can offer tangible, personal rewards to an engaged community. We’re not really a platform for raising funds for general business or equipment expenses. Your project falls outside of Kickstarter’s scope.” Perhaps things have changed on both fronts. That would be great.
Interestingly, things may have changed at Kickstarter as I just had a note from someone there to resubmit our project. Looking through their funded projects I see several that are just like ours. Perhaps they have broadened their project range. I’ll give it another try.
This is a great story. Hopefully you set a model for people across the nation.
Hi Walter,
I’ve been reading many of the posts on your blog today about pigs, building your small cottage, and trying to build your own butcher shop so you can process and sell your meat, and keep costs down for your local customer base. As the economic situation continues to worsen our regional communities will be depending more and more on folks like yourselves; not only as a source of food but also as role models. I’m originally from New Hampshire, and I’d like to move back to my parent’s land and maybe buy a few more acres and start some small-scale farming. The farm down the road from us raises sheep and lamb for slaughter but they were told by the state that they had to send their meat for processing, and consequently their meat is pretty expensive. We still buy from them, but it is more of a special treat for us, not a weekly thing. The state and federal governments want to keep consumers dependent on the CAFO’s because the food corporations don’t want to lose profit (as I’m sure you know). I want to commend you for taking back the power of the people to produce and sell their own food to their neighbors. I hope that one day this rampant corruption will be a thing of the past.
I have a question: I’ve been researching the straw-bale stuff, and you are sure it won’t work in the New England climate? And you say your cottage only cost you $7,000? Could you elaborate on how you kept costs down, where you got your materials, etc. Thanks so much, and again, good luck with your project.
Caity
The straw bale test experiences I have had is that they rot out and I’ve heard that from actual straw bale houses that were built in our climate. I think they’re a great solution in much drier climates, we’re just too wet here.
The number one thing we did to keep costs down is building small. Building small makes a huge difference. Many houses are a lot bigger than people really need or use. Even in our old house which is small by many standards we only used a small part of it most of the year because during the winter we closed down large sections of it as it wasn’t worth heating them. The materials we did use to build the cottage were inexpensive – concrete, cinder blocks, even rebar isn’t really very expensive. Our windows were salvage – a big cost savings. The door was from the discount bin. After that comes doing the work ourselves – labor is a big cost. Back in the various tiny cottage posts you’ll find more discussion of costs.
What an extraordinary family project. Your story is so inspiring that people still DO things. You are so real.
Wondering about the status of the slaughterhouse? What is your projected open date?
When winter hit we had just poured the vaulted ceilings over most of the reefer, including the 15′ tall carcass chiller room, the final meat cutting room and the kitchen. The blast freezer, super cooler and brine room didn’t get covered before winter so we put a temporary conventional roof over them for the cold months. In Admin we got the form work up for the vaulted ceilings for the smoker, mech room, hall, bathroom and inspector’s office but the depth of winter hit before we were quite ready to pour concrete. Today Will and I were pulling protective plastic off and examining the arches. They look good. The form work fared well through the ravages of winter. It should since even a many foot deep snow load is nothing compared with six inches of concrete.
Soon we’ll pour the ceilings and interior walls of the Admin. What we may do is open for meat cutting this summer using the smokehouse space as our initial butcher shop space. This will let us then take on the butchering while we continue construction of the lairage, abattoir and chiller with the goal of having slaughter also under our hand by fall.
We’re opening in phases. That has always been the goal, to break the project down into manageable steps. We’ll get each portion of the process running smoothly before taking on more. We did need to do the entire foundation, super insulated floors, walls and reefer to get to phase one, the butchering, in order to build an energy efficient building. Once it is closed in though we can then gradually expand to cutting, slaughter, brining, the super cooler (27°F), blast freezer (colder than Hell) and later the smokehouse and chicharone (puffed pork rinds).
Walter, my dad mentioned your Kickstarter campaign and I’m happy to see you making great progress there- best of luck!
I’d like to suggest that you also look at http://www.indiegogo.com/learn/features as another crowdfunding avenue. indiegogo offers a model that Kickstarter does not – if you choose, you can launch a campaign type that allows you to gather in all pledged funding, whether your overall goal is met or not.
Good luck!
Kern Sutton
Hi Walter. I am gathering information on USDA and state regulations in regards to small-scale farmers. I am very interested and excited in the process you are going through to obtain USDA approval for your butcher shop. I’ve searched your website but have been unable to find a detailed write-up of your process and its caveats. If you have posted something like this already, please send me the link. If not, I am eager to speak with you to gain some insight into the successes and challenges you’ve had throughout this process. Thanks and continued good luck.
- Jason
There is no one post that covers it all but do read through the Butcher Shop posts. Also go to the USDA’s Small and Very Small Plant Outreach web site.