A few years ago, Jessica Roosa, owner of This Old Farm, based in Colfax, Ind., was trying to solve employee turnover issues on the slaughter floor and began investigating solutions for her small, aged facility that is a custom service processor of beef, pork, lamb and poultry. What she discovered was changes that helped staff also helped her animals.
“Humane handling starts at the farm and is a given, not just a USDA regulation,” says Roosa. “I wanted to make life easier for our employees. But by redesigning our pens, for example, we reduced stress for both staff and animals.”