COVID Community

pable of handling perhaps 500 to 1,000-head per week.

Lines should be discouraged in favor ship of these abattoirs. These state-owned apprentice programs in them that should • diversify agriculture and farming,

COVID Community potentially increasing the possibility of better care of the Earth; • encourage development of small processing businesses, holding out Processing Plants as Community Resources the possibility of “family heirloom” sausages that people would drive out COVID-19 Shows Just how Vulnerable Consolidated, Corporate Meatpacking is from the Twin Cities to buy; By Jim & LeeAnn VanDerPol abattoirs could be built with bonding funds. The meat processor associations can run • stabilize and support main street businesses.

Many small and medium-size encourage those who desire to and are able Currently, we have a food supply confarms are trying to survive by to operate processing to come forward. The trolled by giant companies that are increasselling meats directly to retail facilities could be leased to operators. There ingly crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic. customers and restaurants. The idea shows should be a close working relationship with We must not reconcile ourselves to one meat promise as a way to revitalize an economy meat science experts at the University of plant or one cannery or one fresh vegetable otherwise in the shadow of huge agricultural Minnesota and the Agricultural Utilization warehouse system controlling as much as enterprises. We need slaughterhouses; sevResearch Institute. The state’s retaining of 5% of the product flow, which is the situaeral good, new up-to-date buildings should ownership could guarantee that certain stantion we had when Smithfield’s pork plant in be placed throughout Minnesota to serve the dards of humane slaughter and good work Sioux Falls, S. Dak., became a COVID-19 growing number of farm meat-marketing conditions are maintained as a minimum. hotspot. It is dangerous. We really don’t yet businesses (see sidebar). These should be This would: know how dangerous. incubators of new business, attracting people • enable badly needed access to quality The best way to come out in a different who wish to operate meat processing busiprocessing for farmer-marketers; place is to make a different first step, a step nesses and equipping them with the knowl• serve as an incubator and boost for for people, communities, and livestock. edge and skills to build new businesses. people wanting to enter processing; Rural Minnesota needs it. Individual farmers

These incubators must feature handling • build business-based prosperity in and others have already done the difficult along the humane lines suggested by animal central and western Minnesota; work of developing the ideas of direct marscientist Temple Grandin, the “livestock • allow for a much wider variety of keting, consumer connection, and creating whisperer.” This will keep the adrenaline farms, increasing numbers of viable relationships in business. The idea is growdown in the animals, make the work easier, farms, especially small farms; ing. The time is now for the state to throw its and win the approval of many customers • encourage farms that want to market shoulder to the wheel. We urge action. p who tend to be easily conflicted by the idea directly or through relationships to of animal slaughter. They must be of a size people in rural and urban areas; LeeAnn and Jim VanDerPol, along with and quality to compare favorably with Big • increase urban understanding of rural their family, own and operate Pastures Meat. They must be, as much as possible, issues, and rural understanding of A Plenty Farm in Kerkhoven in western pleasant places to work and safe workplaces, urban issues, by highlighting the comMinnesota. The farm raises hogs and other above all else. Pay must be adequate. The munication skills that go with closely livestock and markets direct to consumers. several that slaughter hogs should be caheld marketing businesses;

of teamwork. Line speeds, if lines are Survey: Lack of Processing Hobbling Local Meat Production used, must be under strict state control. They should feature some in-house further A survey of Minnesota livestock producers shows that the state has experiencing a shortage of local livestock processing, made worse by COVID-19 processing, but they need to have slaughter a growing local meat industry, but lack of plant closures, and this is limiting their farm capacity in excess of their processing — small-scale processing capacity is threatenbusinesses. processing can proceed separately from ing to undermine it. Well over half of the 111 survey responslaughter and it is another worthwhile huThis survey was developed by a team of dents reported that there were too few liveman activity we should encourage, scattered farmers and staff from the Land Stewardship stock processing operations to meet farmers’ about in rural Minnesota. Project, the Sustainable Farming Association needs. Even before the pandemic, processing

Care must be taken to supplement, not of Minnesota, the Minnesota Farmers Union, was inadequate, according to 64% of the rereplace, current private capacity. But our the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association, spondents. A majority of respondents, 54%, small processing capacity is getting old and Renewing the Countryside, and the Minneindicated that they would raise more liveshutting down. State officials could visit the sota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. It stock if there was more processing available. facilities operated by the Lorentz brothers in was sent to participating groups’ members What’s particularly frustrating about the Cannon Falls, Minn., to see a good example in mid-May. backlog in local processing is that 65% of of what could happen. It is badly needed Survey results, largely from farmers who the survey respondents have seen an increase economic development. This is not cheap direct market their livestock to consumers, in demand for their products. processing. It is good processing. The time restaurants, and food cooperatives, conMore on the survey is at www.misa.umn. is right. firmed what agriculture groups and others edu/resources/local-food-sales-resources/

The state should build and retain ownerhave known for a long time: farmers are livestock/livestock-processing. • stabilize and support rural schools;