Country Butcher

Challenges

For many years, the meat processing industry has suffered a nationwide shortage of USDA inspected meat processing facilities to butcher and process livestock into value-added products. These services are critical, as they are required for all livestock producers who want to sell their meat directly to consumers, at local farmers markets, or to restaurants, and or other wholesale buyers. Exacerbating this already existing issue, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in closures and slowed production in the largest meat processing plants in the U.S., causing substantial disruptions to the entire national meat supply chain. As a result, many livestock producers were unable to find processing alternatives for their meat and had to dispose of their livestock animals, resulting in substantial financial losses. Other livestock producers sought out local small to mid-sized meat processing facilities to process their meat, ultimately leading to a surge in demand that outpaced the capacity of these smaller meat processing facilities, leaving them booked for months. Country Butcher experienced these impacts firsthand. Country Butcher is the only facility in two California counties that provides required USDA inspected meat processing for livestock producers seeking to sell their meat in local markets. Having to turning away a vast amount of producers before the pandemic, Country Butcher’s capacity constraints were even further intensified during the height of COVID-19 with their processing schedule booked 10-12 months out. In order to meet overwhelming demand, Country Butcher needed to increase its meat processing capacity through acquiring the needed equipment and labor that could expand its services to accommodate more livestock producers and their meat products.