However, this industry is also seeing more small companies closing up shop, leaving communities and local farmers without a needed and valued service. These plant closings could be for several reasons. The economy has caused more than its share of businesses, big and small alike, to close down. The owner could have run out of money or just decided to retire. It’s not all about money, though. Increasingly, small companies dealing with increased state or federal regulations may have decided that the burden just isn’t worth it anymore.
A new study does a good job of showing the current landscape for small packers and the small farmers that utilize them. The study by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is a first attempt to identify areas in the U.S. where small livestock and poultry producers are concentrated but may not have access to a nearby slaughter facility.