Abattoir to open in Oneida County
Last week, I reported on the shortage of small slaughtering facilities in the North Country and around the Northeast. You can hear those stories here and here.
Basically, people want local meat. Local farmers want to raise the animals. But there are only three USDA-certified abattoirs in the whole North Country.
Coincidentally, it appears a new slaughterhouse is opening in Bridgewater, just south of Utica. According to a press release, New York Custom Gourmet, LLC, will open a “state-of-the-art, full service” USDA inspected meat processing plant:
The new renovated facility will have a modern processing line with a high-powered steam pasteurization carcass cleaning system to insure meat safety. The business will offer full service livestock processing, cutting and packaging to livestock producers, meat buyers and distributors.
That part about the USDA certification is a big deal. That means a USDA inspector will work on-site at all times. And that’s what’s required for a farmer to sell his/her meat in any retail market, from a store to a farmers market.
USDA certification is a very costly proposition; that’s why there are so few small abattoirs. I have a call in to the owner, Joe Rocco, Sr. It’ll be interesting to see how much this all costs.
The press release says he’s targeting July as an opening date.
Slaughter too, a full "abattoir"? Or just "meat processing" with slaughter done elsewhere? Locally grown livestock only? Or USDA-inspected carcasses and/or live animals shipped in from non-local farms and/or feedlots to be custom cut, labeled, etc.? It isn't clear from the press release whether the needs of local meat producers, small and large, are the primary target market, as hopefully they would be.