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NEW! The UMaine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory website: http://www.umaine.edu/vetlab

Though far from complete, Dave Marcinkowski was kind enough while designing it to attach Avian Influenza PDF files.

•  Dead Birds Don’t Fly An Avian Flu Primer for Small-Scale Farmers
•  What Small Flock Owners in Maine Need to Know About Avian Influenza ("Bird Flu")

Meat Processing Study Released

For the past 18 months livestock producer's in northern Vermont have been looking at ways to improve and increase their slaughter and  processing options. One of the study's most significant finding was that there is not a shortage of slaughtering capacity state-wide, but  a shortage of processing capacity. An increase in the availability of USDA processing services since the study began, and the potential for  more capacity in the near future, contributed to the group's decision to not buy an existing slaughterhouse or build a new processing plant at this time.

The report includes:

•  Description of the regulatory issues faced by a slaughter or processing facility operating in Vermont;
•  An assessment of the market for a potential slaughter or processing facility in Vermont;
•  Competition analysis of the existing slaughterhouses in Vermont;
•  Recommended options for this group, including estimated costs;
•  Capital budget for processing facility;
•  Operating budget for processing facility.

The report's recommendations include:

•  explore collaborative and creative options for trucking livestock and finished product;
•  develop on-line scheduling and cut lists, and standardize labels;
•  state level support and producer participation in education,
•  demonstration and technical assistance efforts to mitigate the seasonal nature of Vermont's livestock industry;
•  monitor emerging developments such as the Food Venture Center's
•  activities to address the shortage of USDA-licensed meat processing capacity.

 The Slaughterhouse Feasibility Study was conducted by Sleeping Lion Associates, Montpelier, Vermont, and the report on the study is
 available at: http://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/SlaughterhouseFINALREPORT.pdf

 A file with the Executive Summary and Recommendations can be accessed at:   http://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/SlaughterhouseSummaryRecommendations.pdf

The Study was funded by a Vermont Community Development grant to the Town of Troy, subgranted to Pride of Vermont Farms, LLC, grants from the Vermont Community Loan Fund and the Agency of Agriculture, and in-kind services from the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Cooperative Development Institute from Pride of Vermont Farms

New Economic Data from Grazing and Organic Farms in:

•  Maine and Vermont
•  New York
•  Wisconsin

Putting knowledge to work with the people of Maine

A Member of the University of Maine System
Last Modified: 03/31/08
These pages are currently being maintained from the
Waldo County Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
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