Poultry Processing for Commercial Sale - 8/22/17

Thanks to everyone that participated in the 8/22 workshop Poultry Processing for Commercial Sale. Over the course of the day, we went over the methods and systems for safely harvesting, cleaning and packaging poultry meat on the farm. Participants were able to practice themselves and receive coaching from experienced processors, and we explored additional regulations around land use, marketing/sales, food safety and waste handling.

Below are links to the materials we distributed on the day as well as some additional links that may be useful to producers who are interested in conducting poultry processing as part of their commercial ag operation.

Additional Session, Wednesday, 8/23

Following Tuesday’s training, we gathered regulators and agency officials from Marin County, Sonoma County, Region II Water Quality Control Board, CDFA-MPES as well as the USDA-FSIS for a demonstration of the poultry processing practices that were taught on Tuesday as well as conversations that would help build consistency across agencies in supporting ranches to participate in this activity. All parties expressed support for the practices being demonstrated and clarified some of the finer details of the county, state and federal rules that cover this kind of on-farm poultry processing. Click here for some notes and Q&A from this session.

Special Thanks

• Kitty Dolcini of Chi’ken City by Kitty for hosting the training at her family’s ranch
• Marc Felton and Sarah Silva of Green Star Farm for providing training & coaching
• Dan Famini, DVM of Santa Rosa Junior College for providing training & coaching
• Nevada County Grown for the loan of their poultry processing trailer
• Rob & Patty Bielen of Back to Basics Farm for their support of the training
• The many county, regional and state agencies that provided the training with information and support, including:
  • Marin County Community Development Agency
  • Region II Water Quality Control Board
  • Carbon Cycle Institute
  • California Department of Food & Agriculture, Meat Poultry & Egg Safety Branch