Temple Grandin Offers Livestock Farmers an Alternative Business Model

 

Temple Grandin, Professor at Colorado State University and world renown animal welfare specialist and contributor to Forbes Magazine recently authored an article “Alternative Business Models That Farmers Should Consider”

 

In that article she suggests that first and foremost, small processing plants will never – let me repeat that – never compete with the large plants on cost efficiency.  But a series of smaller plants will be less susceptible to the disruptions that happened in the spring of 2020. Grandin offers the following points that have been synthesized into a few sentences.

 

 

During the restrictions placed upon restaurants and bars, craft brewers innovated and moved their dining outside so they could still sell their draft beers.  More importantly craft brewers have been able to coexist with the Anheuser-Busch InBevs because they offer beers that the large brewers do not.  That is the definition of a niche.  And you must have one to justify the higher prices you charge to cover your production costs. Locally Raised by Farm Families is your niche.

 

 

Avoid the high overhead of a brick and mortar plants.  Grandin opinions on the feasibility of purchasing portable slaughter units that are self-contained systems capable of processing 8-15 head of cattle and 20-40 sheep or pigs per day.

 

 

Getting federal inspectors to staff smaller units and facilities is a hurdle.  When meat is sold across state lines federal inspection is mandatory. State inspections vary from state to state.  Custom-exempt is an option but limits the scope and reach of your sales.

 

 

Should a group of ranchers or livestock producers band together to get some efficiency of scale, especially important to maintain constant and consistent supply to a smaller plant. Three challenges exist from her experiences when she designed plants for this type of business structure. First, disagreements between producer board members on how the operation should be run.  Second, one big member of the coop sells out their shares and the cooperative gets taken over by a bigger company.  Thirdly and most importantly, having a sufficient supply of product to meet demand. If your brand is “grass-fed”, it ALL must be grass-fed.  It is always better to be a small, honest business. This sets you apart from the Anheuser-Busch InBevs of the meat packing industry.