An increasing trend in the beef industry is what are basically meat packaging plants. Carcasses come in from slaughterhouses and are made into presentation slices and packaged for shipment to retailers. Much of the line is automated.

The basic reason for this is to reduce labor cost as much as possible, not only in the plant, but at the retail outlet. Meat is put out as if it were any other commodity. The meat department in your favorite supermarket probably won't do any cutting or packaging. If you want that extra thick t-bone - too bad. If you want that ham cut up into slices, try the deli department.

In a typical supermarket the meat department takes up only about 10% of the space, but produces about 40% of income.

Even with the decreased cost of labor, don't expect meat prices to go down.

-- Ken S. (scharabo@aol.com), July 30, 2000

Answers

Hi Ken,

You're too late! We already did! Ol' Ben the butcher here in Middlefield, Ohio decided to call it quits and closed his butcher shop. He was 74 and wanted to go fishin'. The nerve of some people!

We get our beef and pork at our local county fair 4-H meat auction. The rule here at the Trumbull county fair is that no beef or pork raised by 4-H kids can get out alive (so to speak). Ribbons are passed out, pictures taken and after some real tears, the hoofers go straight to the slaughter house. The meat is absolutely first rate and the money is going to the kids that raised them, not some meat conglomerate. It's a WIN-WIN situation.

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), July 30, 2000.

Ken! You've really opened up a subject that needed opening up. The big packing houses are getting into this meat production thing really deep. They are, in this area anyhow, in the enire process-from beginning to end. I'm referring to hogs-Cargill is the main one around my neck of the woods. It won't be long until the independant hog farmer will not have a market. It's already appearing now. Unless these independents "hook up" with those mega hog factory people then it's just amatter of time until they're done. Turkeys and chickens are that way already. Purdue and Tyson have it wrapped up here. I have a "lovely" hog factory 1/4 mile from my house. The sharecropper is an obnoxious, ignornant, ten cent millionaire. He's polluting the ground water and air with his filthy byproducts of hogs. EPA won't/cant do anything. This is the wave of the future in the country--expect more of the same as independants go under. I can use the water, and it's good-now. Filters, Softener and Reverse Osmosis System. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot gibson (hoot@pcinetwork.com), July 30, 2000.

In our area the industrial farms are slowly taking over. Since the statwe we live in, VA., is a coomonwealth its sometimes by the laws of the "Good ole' boys!" We recently experienced an issue that about pulled me out of political retirement again! It seems there was this politician who lived near VA Beach who had connections to the wealthy in northern VA., he decided to introcuce a bill into the st assembly that about tore the towns and communities apart and ruined the small farmer. I hope joel reads this as this was a big problem. He stated in that bill that a farmer could only have X amount of animals or be considered a hog operation. Not only did it pertain to hogs, he also ioncluded all other animals except for horses. Anyways, if a person moved into your neighboorhood and didn't like the smell they could sue you, same as any dust, fertalizers, etc. now this got to be too much. So the st assembly majority had the sense to say let the localities sort it out. then came the onslaught of wars and fussing about hog operations and restrictions on farming and the right to farm law was revisited. Its still not wholly settled and will probably never be. But it was interesting what one person created. I think we as farmers must be on our toes and watch out. I'm going to post a message for Joel to comment here to find out what the politicians did in his part of the state.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), July 30, 2000.

Craig County, Virginia is a step into the past by at least 40 years. That is why I am here. Not to assume all the credit but I guess you would have to say that I brought "lease farming" here. The locals liked my grandfather and trusted me as they would have him. We paid the taxes during the drought is about all I can say. However it was an improvement from losing money, so they liked it. What I'm trying to say is we are a tight knit hillbilly klan that sticks together. So, we are not really the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are pretty much our own country which just happens to be in Virginia. We still have a Dunkard Family(that's a religion) who slaughters and butchers for us. He is fair, takes barter and I don't look for him to lose that operation. He might be the next to wealthiest man in the county and everyone would come running to help him(esp.me). Virginia has problems. I'm not trying to be rude but we're being invaded. I hear everyone on this forum saying the same thing. Our problem is unique because most come from Federal employment and have the impression they will mow us over with law. Now Colleen works in a Federal office but I do not consider her job a threat to freedom as I do others. She may tell you herself what she does but it is an admirable part of governent. We have no large cattle or hog operations here. We do have a huge Buffalo Ranch but he is protected by the endangered species provisions and is the wealthiest man around. The only way we can maintain the sovereignty of Craig County is by being somewhat rude to outsiders. More than rude to developers and intolerant of our Representitives and Senators. Last time Cranwell came here we boo-ed him till he left. Thinking of moving here ? You really wouldn't like it ! So, Bernice--that is what is happening here. I don't know how to stop the onslaught in the rest of the state. My recommendation is: The Great Commonwealth of Virginia donated Washington D.C. to the government. Maybe we should revoke their lease and close it. Maybe than we could get back to farming and selling what we see fit. God Save (us from) the Commowealth of Virginia !

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), July 30, 2000.

Joel, your last line reminded me of a line from "Fiddler on the Roof". "May God bless and keep the czar -- far away from us!"

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), July 30, 2000.

When the bottom fell out of the hog market a year or so back, some of the ranchers saw it coming and had sold their pigs. In some parts of the country, they just turned them loose. Others, who didn't depend on the packers, like those who sold show pigs, have continued to do well. The rancher I got my pet hog from is a 4th generation pig rancher. The ranch supports him and his wife, his two sons and their families, and the hired hands. The show pig ranchers work together. They swap semen; if a 4-H or FFA kid wants a different type of pig, the rancher will recommend another rancher.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 30, 2000.

Ken You make me so glad to live in the sticks in southeast Kansas. Our little bitty grocery store still cuts up their own meat. there is a locker in Moline, and one in Fredonia, and Caney. Several have closed due to government regulations, it cost too much to bring them up to their standards. We actually defeated an attempt to let Wichita dump their trah in the closed rock quarry, here in the county. And Elk County is poor with no industry, no hospitals, nothing but cows and us stubborn independent people. Sure hope it stays that way for a long time. karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), July 31, 2000.

There is a small top rated slaughter house/butcher just a few miles from me (in SW Wisconsin). I, however, had settled the meat problem once anf or all. I became a vegetarian!

-- Dianne (yankeeterrier@hptmail.com), August 01, 2000.

Karen, you forgot the one over in Burden. From the center of KS to the east there were 21 meat lockers. There are something like 7 now. Govt. regs have forced the others to close down. I talked to the guy over in Burden that owns that one. He said they come in every am and inspect and there's NEVER been e-coli found. However, he has a friend that works the meat processing plant down by Ark City and they opened a box of hamburger and found a pile of cow dooky right on top. They find tons of e-coli over there, but there are acceptable levels. (Not to me there isn't!) Randy can't do chickens at the locker over in Burden, because he doesn't have enough light, he needs brighter light. (I did mine hanging from a tree on the riverbank and gutted it on a stump.) We use the meat locker over in Burden and I'd rather eat anything coming out of there than from the grocery store. I read an article about 3 yrs. ago and it said within 5 or 10 yrs., we'd only be able to get meat from the grocery store. ADM thanks us for their business "supplying food to the world"....

-- Louise Whitley (whitley@terraworld.net), August 02, 2000.

Got to thinkin about hog confinments etc. About 10 years ago, I was called to a customer of ours [propane company where I worked] to fix a hanging gas heater in the farrowing barn. Now, I won't be as graphic as it actually was but ain't no need to lie either. The heater was at the west end of the building. Entry door was on the East end. I had to walk the entire length of that horrible stinkin place just to get to the heater. The old sows were in farrowing crates and were crammed right next to each other. A walkway was at each end and one small one down the middle. The heater was hanging just off the north side and could only be reached from the center isle. I heard my shoes "crunchin" something as I walked carefully back to the back. Afterbirth, dead babies and hog poop was piled high the entire length of the side walkway. I walked around the end and started up the center isle only to be confronted with very angry sows that could get their heads through the steel pipe farrowing crates. More dead pigs in the center isle but no afterbirth, poop but it made up for that by WORMS and MAGGOTS. This was by far the filthest hog barn I'd ever been in before or after. This is a small family farm and the tradition is still carried on today as the boys have their own hog houses now. I've seen inside the mega hog factories and have to admit they are a whole lot cleaner than these other filth holes. This was the last time I ever went inside those filthy places. I told Mr Farmer "no more". When heaters quit--they had to take'm out, wash'm off and bring'm to us. When repaired they came and got'm and reinstalled them -themselves. Words fail me when I try to describe those terrible conditions that we had to endure while working on that junk. Not to even think of the old hogs welfare! Oh, the crunchin? Worm--large, brown, sectioned, meal worms! The baby pig carcasses were constantly movin with MAGGOTS! Green flies were constant comanions while workin on heaters. Seemed they were always trying to fly in your nose, eyes, ears and mouth if you opened it any. This was in the dead of winter too. My two cents. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), August 02, 2000.

Here in Alabama, were not even allowed to slaughter our own for personal use anymore. The dept of env mngt and health dept says all slaughter must be done in a federal and state inspected facility.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), August 05, 2000.

Hoot,

I think you're from Texas? If so, I'm a good ol' country/city boy! Email me and we'll chat.

Ted Hart

-- (tedhart71@hotmail.com), January 11, 2001.