In coalition with NFFC, FARFA, and FTCLDF, we’ve been meeting with Members of Congress for months to find champions who would introduce the bill. Unfortunately, neither the Vermont delegation nor other members of Congress is willing or able to spearhead a bill on On-Farm Slaughter and the personal exemption at the moment. This particular issue is brand new to many, even to those who are invested in advancing meat processing issues. 

So we are launching a revised campaign, focused on a broader issue that is more understandable to Members of Congress – protecting a state’s “equal to” status from arbitrary USDA actions. 

Protecting State Meat Inspection Programs from arbitrary USDA action has always been a campaign goal and was part of the original petition. Under the current law, if there is a disagreement over whether the state meets the federal standards, States bear the burden of proof in their own defense. The mere threat of USDA withdrawal of this designation – which can be based on informal policies or an individual official’s opinions – places State officials in the untenable position of having to either abandon state policy or risk losing approval of the state inspection program. 

In Vermont, after expansions of the On-Farm Slaughter Law, USDA issued an informal letter in 2022 which caused the state to issue more stringent requirements to avoid even the possibility of losing “equal to” status. 

The proposed bill would protect a State from arbitrary and capricious decisions by USDA officials that are not supported by the statutory or regulatory provisions, ensuring that USDA uses its authority in a transparent, responsible manner.

We ask organizations to sign-on to this letter by the end of September to support this effort. 

We ask individuals – farmers and meat processors – to keep calling their Members of Congress in support of this campaign. You can find more information about this initiative here and contact Congress here.

Sample message (Copy, Paste, Customize!): 

“Dear ________, I’m reaching out to urge you to protect States’ ability to adopt scale-appropriate provisions for meat processed and sold solely within their states.  If a State administration certifies that its program is at least “equal to” the federal program, then USDA should have the burden to show otherwise.  This would protect States from arbitrary and capricious decisions by USDA officials that are not supported by the statutory or regulatory provisions. This change is needed to protect the ability of states to build programs that work for their producers and consumers.  In particular, it would help states to support small-scale, local meat production and processing.”

Questions? Concerns? Thoughts? Please connect with Caroline Gordon: caroline@ruralvermont.org

Urge Congress to Add Clarifying Language in the Federal Meat Inspection Act for On-Farm Slaughter to their Priorities for the Farm Bill!

Support the proposal to protect the practice of slaughtering livestock on the farms where they were raised and clarify the Federal Meat Inspection Act’s “personal-use exemption." Currently, farmers selling livestock for on-farm slaughter, itinerant (traveling) slaughterers, and custom processors all rely on guidance provided by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which bases the personal use exemption on ownership. USDA FSIS guidance, however, is vulnerable to change. 

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that authorizes most federal policies governing food and agriculture programs. The Farm Bill has a miscellaneous section where a technical amendment to the personal-use exemption should clarify that it applies to persons who own animals instead of only to farmers who raise them. Twenty-seven states have livestock slaughter laws, based on this federal exemption, that allow livestock owners to have an agent slaughter their livestock on-farm, and to use that meat without state or federal inspection. The Federal Meat Inspection Act, enacted in 1906 and last updated in 1989, bases the personal-use exemption on who raised the animals instead of who owns them. 

The Federal Meat Inspection Act should be revised to protect personal use-based on ownership, reflecting modern FSIS guidance and ensuring that livestock producers and processors have permanent protection to practice on-farm slaughter in accordance with state laws.

Please support this Campaign and Take Action NOW!

1. Need more info? Policy Guide On-Farm Slaughter here

2. Call your US Senator and Representative in D.C.! Contact members of Congress here.
   Express your support with an individual message, you can customize this template message:
   “Dear Senator/Representative __________, I am reaching out to ensure that on-farm slaughter has a place in federal law and urge you to support our Petition to Clarify the Personal-Use Exemption. A resilient food system depends on small, direct-to-consumer farms outside of commodity agriculture, and those farms need a level playing field that can only be served by the protection and preservation of exempt market niches like the personal use exemption for on farm slaughter. Respectfully, _____________”

3. Share & Sign the Petition! LINK TO THE PETITION HERE