Two Colorado Department of Agriculture officials will visit Durango on Monday to explain issues involved in satisfying the demand for locally processed meat and to answer questions.
“The growing request for local food includes meat,” said Steve Bornmann, the agency’s director for inspection and consumer services.
Bornmann and Scott Ziehr will be at the American Legion Event Hall, 878 East Second Ave., starting at 5 p.m.
The Sunnyside Meats plant on County Road 216 is the only area slaughterhouse certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The closest other processors of domestic animals are in Waterflow, N.M., and Monticello, Utah.
Colorado doesn’t regulate slaughterhouses.
“I think Bornmann’s presentation is a general call to residents and ranchers interested in making more local meat available or perhaps getting started in processing domestics,” said Ian Chamberlain, the director at Sunnyside.
Sunnyside slaughters and processes cattle, swine, sheep, goats and the less-common buffalo, Chamberlain said. The facility doesn’t process poultry or wild game, he said.
There’s demand for poultry at the Durango Farmers Market, for example, but the volume wouldn’t support the cost of meeting regulations, Chamberlain said. The climate, cost of land, an unreliable source of feed and a questionable labor force work against the endeavor, he said.
“Our work is seasonal,” Chamberlain said. “From January to June, we’re sleeping and have to lay off workers, and from June to January, we’re jamming.”
Meeting USDA regulations for slaughtering and processing meat is no snap, Chamberlain said. A plan called a Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Points must be written for each type of product before the USDA even will consider certifying the operation, he said.
An example of myriad requirements can be seen in the need for separate plans for raw, intact meat (steaks), ground meat and fully cooked but not shelf-stable products, Chamberlain said.
The USDA regulations for distribution of meat are stringent, Chamberlain said. Any meat destined for sale or donation, for example, to Manna Soup Kitchen, must be processed at a USDA-licensed facility.
The guy who butchers in his garage and shares with neighbors falls into a grey area, Chamberlain said. Technically, a recipient should be part owner of the animals before it’s processed.
Two USDA inspectors – a veterinarian and a line inspector – are at Sunnyside any time the plant is working, Chamberlain said. The only exception is when one has to travel to Monticello or Waterflow.
Sunnyside is in processing mode from 8:38 a.m. to 4:52 p.m. The odd timetable is the result of the USDA inspectors union demand for 15 minutes to change into and out of work gear, Chamberlain said.
“I’m comfortable with regulations because I’ve been here nine years,” Chamberlain said. “But ranchers who haul their animals a prohibitive distance to market or someone interested in slaughtering or processing domestics might want to hear Bornmann’s presentation.”
daler@durangoherald.com
