Selling meat!!???!?

I am interested in selling my own meat off of the farm. But I know that I will need to make a usda approved facility. Does anyone here that butchers their own meat have information and help on how and what things I need to get usda approved? I would have it in a medium sized barn. It has concrete flooring and is in good clean shape. What things do I need in it to get approved?

Where are you located? In Maryland the department of health and mental hygiene handles all inspections and licensing. If you have less than a certain amount of annual sales or process under a certain amount if birds regulations, licenses, and fees differ. I'll be going through inspection next spring. Usually you are required to have adequate, clean water, proper disposal of waste, sanitized surfaces, processing area free of animals, proper pest control, proper cleaning, and refrigeration. But again this depends on your area.

Moocowman123 said:

I am interested in selling my own meat off of the farm. But I know that I will need to make a usda approved facility. Does anyone here that butchers their own meat have information and help on how and what things I need to get usda approved? I would have it in a medium sized barn. It has concrete flooring and is in good clean shape. What things do I need in it to get approved?

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Good luck to you. It's a lot of work. Check out some of the raising meat birds threads and see how they did it. It varies from state to state. I'm too small to fool with it. And old. But I see the lure of it.

Anyone else? Ya it is exciting trying to get everything ready

Moocowman123 said:

I would have it in a medium sized barn. It has concrete flooring and is in good clean shape. What things do I need in it to get approved?

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You are going to have to build a clean and up to code processing room, those requirements will vary all over the place depending upon your location as local health codes vary all over the place... Personally I don't think a 'barn' is the best starting point as you are going to need finished walls, ceilings, floors, plumbing (including sewer), electric, hot/cold running water and what not just for starters as well as rodent and bug free, and that will likely be the entire barn... In my area things like floor drains, a toiletry room are even required, so converting existing buildings can be troublesome... Not saying you can't finish off a barn to be up to code, but you might find it cheaper and more economical to just build a proper out building, a small garage for example would likely be a cheap starting point...

Not trying to discourage you but in most areas to do it 'legally' it's a lot of trouble and red tape... Best to contact your local health department and start gathering info...

Well my "barn" isn't really a barn. It is a building with floor drains plumbing and water. It already had a hot water heater in it. So it's not really a barn, just a building. And of course older lighting which I would have to replace, but it is actually a good facility. I didn't build it, it came with the place.

Moocowman123 said:

Well my "barn" isn't really a barn. It is a building with floor drains plumbing and water. It already had a hot water heater in it. So it's not really a barn, just a building. And of course older lighting which I would have to replace, but it is actually a good facility. I didn't build it, it came with the place.

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Are those existing floor drains hooked into the sewer system/septic or do they just vent out the back of the building like most 'barns' do? Also what kind of wall treatments? In my area they have to be easily cleaned, for example tile, cement or fiberglass/plastic sheet...

Again not trying to discourage, anything can be remodeled up to code, but there are so many little things to consider that might/will need addressing that in the end you might find it cost prohibitive to convert...

MeepBeep said:

Are those existing floor drains hooked into the sewer system/septic or do they just vent out the back of the building like most 'barns' do? Also what kind of wall treatments? In my area they have to be easily cleaned, for example tile, cement or fiberglass/plastic sheet...

Again not trying to discourage, anything can be remodeled up to code, but there are so many little things to consider that might/will need addressing that in the end you might find it cost prohibitive to convert...

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A lot of people in cottage farm food (small cheese makers, etc) end up either building or having delivered a small shed-like building to handle their USDA kitchen needs - my understanding is that having the kitchen in an existing building affects the code needs for the whole building. I would guess that you can get a room in a barn certified, but I would also guess that it'll cost way more than having a purpose built small building.

Make sure you're very familiar with the codes before you do anything - you don't want to get halfway through renovating and then end up needing a new structure.