Addressing Climate Change by Reducing the Meat Processing Bottleneck
Completed
Challenge
There is a lack of access to legal slaughter and processing for grass-fed and pasture raised livestock, particularly for Native farmers. While processors do exist throughout Minnesota, small and medium-sized farmers have difficulty maintaining consistent access due to issues like spatial proximity, scheduling, timing of animal development and plant closures.
Impact Goal
Improve access of Native farmers, small- and medium-sized pasture-based livestock producers to slaughter and processing facilities that will allow for business relationships and ultimately increase the supply of climate-smart pasture produced meats.
Funding
Partner Organization(s)
Project Lead
Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships
Supporting Tribal Grassland and Pasture-Based Grazing
In 1990, there were 1,268 federally inspected meat slaughter facilities in the United States. By 2016, that number had dropped to 808, limiting the expansion of grassfed livestock on Tribal and other lands.
Along with this decline in facilities, licensing types and services offered by processors do not always align with farmer needs. For example, custom exempt processors are not able to process meat for resale to retail customers. Native farmers, who are more likely to be located in isolated and less populated areas of the state, have access to even fewer processors and services. Those raising bison, for example, need to field harvest the buffalo and must be in close enough proximity to a meat locker to ensure a field-killed animal can be transported and hung within an hour of death.
Available processor details like capacity to conduct field slaughter, hanging capacity, organic certification, scheduling and throughput could assist Native livestock producers better plan their grazing strategies. To address this, the project team connected with Native livestock producers and pasture livestock stakeholders to identify specific needs and concerns related to processing challenges.
Outcomes
- Gained information about the need for and access to meat processing among Tribal community members and pasture based livestock operators through existing data compilation and conversations with Tribal members
- Connected with Minnesota Farmers Union to look at the feasibility of a mobile meat processing facility for Central Minnesota, to serve an area that would include Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the White Earth Nation and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
- Secured scholarship funding from the Initiative Foundation for Tribal members to enroll in the meat cutting program that is being offered through Central Lake College
The project team is grateful for the contributions of Shirley Nordrum, who passed away in 2023.
Meet the Project Team
Project Lead
Kathy Draeger
Fellow
Since 2018
FLC
Since 2019
Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships
University of Minnesota Extension
Additional Team Members
Project Status
Last Updated
Aug 05, 2026
Impact Location
Minnesota; Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, White Earth Nation and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe