Meat and Poultry Processing Maryland

View the project report

Commodities

• Agronomic: grass (misc. annual), grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Animals: bovine, goats, poultry, sheep, swine
• Animal Products: meat

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, genetics, grazing management, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, livestock breeding, meat processing, meat processing facilities, meat product quality/safety, pasture renovation, pasture fertility, processing regulations, rangeland/pasture management, stocking rate, stockpiled forages, watering systems, winter forage
• Crop Production: cover crops, silvopasture
• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, technical assistance, workshop
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, budgets/cost and returns, business planning, financial management, value added
• Production Systems: integrated crop and livestock systems
• Soil Management: soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, local and regional food systems, new business opportunities

The Northeast livestock industry faces significant challenges including limited meat processing capacity, increasing land costs, and labor shortages. Yet, it also holds great promise, especially in meeting the rising consumer demand for local, sustainably-produced meat. This project, led by the University of Maryland Extension, seeks to transform the regional meat supply chain by addressing critical processing limitations and supporting farmers, entrepreneurs, and consumers with comprehensive educational initiatives.

Through a multifaceted approach, the project aims to build capacity and promote sustainability within the meat processing sector. It will begin with a robust needs assessment to guide the creation of targeted educational resources and programming. The initiative includes training a cohort of meat processing professionals, supporting a series of educational meetings across the region, and culminating in a large-scale Northeast Meat Summit to unify stakeholders and drive systemic change. With broad-based partnerships and outreach strategies, the project will contribute to a more resilient, profitable, and environmentally friendly livestock and food system in the Northeast United States.

1. Conduct a needs assessment to inform the implementation and development of workshops, meetings, and educational resources key to building the capacity of the local meat processing industry.
2. Develop written and digital educational products and programming to help producers, entrepreneurs, and consumers understand topics related to livestock production, meat processing, and the marketing of local meats.
3. Train or sponsor the training of at least four individuals from the Northeast Region in an intensive meat processing and entrepreneurship hands-on training program that will cover a wide range of meat processing, food safety, and entrepreneurial skills. These four individuals will be those that intend to work in the meat processing industry and/or start their own meat processing business.
4. Administer an educational meeting sponsorship program which will result in at least ten in-person local meetings related to meat processing education across the Northeast. These meetings will be conducted by cooperating partners throughout the region.
5. Conduct the Northeast Meat Summit. The local meetings in objective 4 will lead into and culminate in the regional meat summit. The purpose of the meat summit is to unify Northeast stakeholders, increase knowledge, and grow collective skills to advance market opportunities for local and regional meat supply chains in the United States.