Livestock Slaughter Unit
The construction of the livestock slaughter unit was funded through a grant from USDA-Rural Development. The purpose of this project was to provide livestock slaughter capabilities under Federal inspection to open new markets for small and mid-sized farmers/ranchers in Northeast Washington.
The Community Ag Center has contracted with S & K Processing of Chewelah to operate the livestock slaughter unit. S & K Processing has met USDA requirements for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) training and was responsible for developing the HACCP plan for the unit. The project benefits from the facilities provided at Smokey Ridge Meats, which include potable water, waste management, and animal receiving and handling facilities.
Any producer can arrange to have beef, pork, lamb or goat slaughtered in the mobile unit. The capacity of the unit is fairly small and potential users need to allow plenty of lead-time for scheduling. The main advantage of having animals slaughtered under Federal inspection is the option to sell product under any marketing option by the piece or in larger packages. Meat from animals killed in this unit is currently sold in Stevens County and throughout the State of Washington.
Product from this unit must be processed in a USDA inspected cut and wrap facility to be sold as USDA inspected meat. Smokey Ridge is under Federal inspection and is a convenient source for processing livestock products.
To arrange to have your animal slaughtered contact S&K Processing -Shane Nelson at 509 675-6071.
Please contact Al Kowitz if you want additional information about the slaughter unit: akowitz@communityagcenter.org
or 509 499-1360.