(Host) This is the time of year local meat producers typically ship animals to be processed at a slaughterhouse.
For years, Vermont – along with other states – has had a shortage of slaughterhouse capacity.
There are eight inspected red-meat slaughterhouses in the state, but only one that can process poultry.
In an effort to help poultry producers, the state has purchased a mobile processing facility, which can be driven from farm to farm to slaughter and process birds.
The 32-foot trailer is scheduled for delivery this month, but it may be some time before it’s in operation.
That’s because the state has had difficulty finding a private company or individual to operate it.
Randy Quenneville is with the Vermont meat inspection program.
(Quenneville) "When someone’s looking at this as a business plan and all of a sudden they’re seeing the rise in the price of gas and being able to schedule it so that it’s most efficient. There have been some surveys done but I don’t think there’s been a real concerted effort to let anyone interested in doing this know where these small producers are and how many birds they’re looking at doing so people looking at going into this are still skeptical."
(Host) Quenneville says it would be a conflict of interest for the state to operate a facility it’s responsible for inspecting.
The legislature has set aside $80,000 to pay for the mobile slaughterhouse.