At the Stockyard in La Grande, rancher watches the action as he works to sell four small cows to improve his breed stock and pay for feed. Some of the animals he鈥檚 selling today may end up in hamburgers. But in the stockyard鈥檚 canteen, he has no idea whether the burger on his plate comes from a local ranch or from New Zealand.
That鈥檚 because when cattle enter a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected processing plant, they get sorted with animals from elsewhere. The same is true at every step of the process, from shipping to markets.
Each step in that path from farm to shelf adds value. So while Nash might get $1,000 selling one of his large cows to a neighbor, once it鈥檚 sent off to get slaughtered, cut, wrapped, frozen and put on a supermarket shelf, the animal鈥檚 total worth is more like $5,500.
That means retailers, shippers and processors receive 80% of the cows鈥� value 鈥� and often those companies are large, out of state, organizations.
鈥淭hat money can be all captured here,鈥� Nash said. 鈥淚t could benefit our communities, especially those that have lost logging and timber and mill infrastructure.鈥�
In practical terms, the current system means that, if Nash or anyone else wants to boost Oregon鈥檚 economy by buying local beef, it鈥檚 very difficult and requires an expensive work around.
Watching money leave Oregon is hard for Nash 鈥� and for regulators. That鈥檚 why the has spent $2 million to create a 鈥� even though the federal government already runs . And to process the new state inspected meat, agricultural authorities are trying to increase capacity at Oregon鈥檚 small slaughterhouses.
Passage of this session would bring in another $10 million for the new program.
Up to now, Oregon has relied on federal meat inspectors with the . But Oregon only has 13 large federal inspected slaughterhouses and 36 counties. So some ranchers have to drive three hours or more, each way, to get their cattle killed and processed.
Todd Nash drives to Nampa, Idaho.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a full day,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y the time you load the cattle up, unload them, stop for fuel, you鈥檙e 10 hours into it.鈥�
The Oregon agriculture department is taking a two-pronged approach to build the new system. The first is training new state meat inspectors. The second involves helping small slaughterhouses grow so they can handle more capacity.
Bill and Kaleen Oldridge run in Union County. Until recently, they processed a maximum of two animals a day, because there were only two of them and they had minimal equipment. Each animal took several hours鈥� work. That compares to 1,800 animals a day that are processed at a large federally inspected factory slaughterhouse.
Boosting production at BillyBob鈥檚 started with a $400,000 grant from the state, which the Oldridges used to buy new equipment, including a more efficient saw, a new smoker, a briner, packer and a grinder.
They now process up to 12 animals a day and they鈥檝e hired 10 new employees. The Oldridges are busy putting in all the required before they can finally secure a state inspector.
Up to now, each animal to go through BillyBob鈥檚 has generally been purchased by a local family from a local rancher. And after the animal is processed, that family is not allowed to sell the meat, because it hasn鈥檛 been individually inspected.
Instead, the meat goes to stock the family鈥檚 freezer.
People do it because they want to know where their food comes from, explained Kaleen Oldridge.
鈥淭hey get to know who鈥檚 producing it, where it鈥檚 being raised, what it鈥檚 being fed. There鈥檚 no guess,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no, 鈥榃hat did it eat? Where did it eat? Did they give it medications? Did they give it antibiotics? Did they give it hormones, or anything else?鈥欌��
She said a state inspector will mean the meat she processes can be sold to local stores and restaurants.
But before sending an inspector to a facility, the state is requiring business owners like the Oldridges to provide enough work to keep that inspector busy for five, eight-hour workdays 鈥� Monday through Friday.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture is working with about 15 Oregon businesses interested in adopting the new inspection program. But it鈥檚 taking a while to boost local production and train staff.
鈥淭he ODA will staff up the program as needed to accommodate the requests for service,鈥� spokeswoman Andrea Cantu-Schomus said, in a statement.
鈥淭his is not a program that will (be) fully operational overnight and will take time to mature as businesses and customers grow.鈥�
By starting its own state inspection program, Oregon regulators hope to turn animal processing into a more local business and to save ranchers time and money 鈥� not to mention allowing Oregonians to eat beef from the cattle they see in the fields.
鈥�85% of the cattle that are processed in the United States right now are processed by four large processors,鈥� said Nash, who is also chairman of the . 鈥淚t鈥檚 , , and . And the last two are Brazilian companies. So I think this is a really positive move.鈥�
Small slaughterhouses became more popular during COVID, when
In the small ranching town of Lostine, many people can鈥檛 wait for the new system to come on line.
The owners of the and general store for example, still have to conduct an extensive work-around to serve local beef. They buy cows off local ranchers who make an eight-hour round trip to the nearest USDA inspected plant in Idaho. The restaurant then has a staff member make another eight-hour trip to pick the beef up after it鈥檚 been aged and processed.
鈥淚t shouldn鈥檛 be this hard for a local restaurant to serve meat from here,鈥� said general manager Michael Junkins.
Union County Commissioner agrees. He goes through the same arduous process to sell the goat meat raised by his kids in He sees a parallel with Oregon鈥檚 1980s craft beer movement.
鈥淭here weren鈥檛 rules, and they were trying to figure how these small breweries could do it,鈥� he said.
He鈥檚 not sure the new system will make meat cheaper. But that鈥檚 not really the point: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e looking for a quality, unique product that the consumer is really demanding now.鈥�
Some people worry the new state system might not be as safe as the federal system. But supporters point out the new Oregon program will hold meat processors to the same health standards.
鈥淭he state meat inspection program is not meant to compete with USDA,鈥� Cantu-Schomus said. 鈥淚nstead it complements the federal program.鈥�
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