Virginia Cooperative Extension at VSU launches mobile processing unit Farmers’ access to local-market opportunities improves
The VSU-VCE Mobile Processing Unit stands ready for certified Virginia producers to lease for goat and sheep processing at their own farms.
The interest in and demand for locally-produced food is growing, according to the USDA. Unfortunately, small-ruminant farmers in central, southern and eastern Virginia have limited access to state- or federally-inspected meat-processing facilities. As a result, they experience costly scheduling delays, increased labor and transportation costs and premium processing charges. These issues impede access to the local markets and reduce producer profitability.
To assist such small-scale farmers, VSU College of Agriculture and Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University (VSU-VCE) established a project with four distinct components:
1. A mobile processing unit (MPU) )
2. An MPU Training Certification Program
3. An MPU-technicain position
4. An MPU-leasing program for MPU-Certified farmers who had a USDA grant of inspection.
This project was funded through a USDA 1890 capacity building grant awarded to VSU-VCE project lead Dr. Dahlia O’Brien and co-investigators Dr. Stephan Wildeus, Dr. Adnan Yousuf and Dr. Theresa Nartea.
The VSU-VCE team collaborated with project scientists from Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Delaware State University to design the MPU and have it fabricated to specifications.
To ensure farmers and Extension program assistants were trained to properly and safely process goats and sheep into value-added meat products, VSU-VCE-developed the Mobile Processing Unit Certification Program, in collaboration with Dr. Derris Devost-Burnett, Mississippi State University; Dr. Kwame Matthews, Delaware State University; Dr. Roger Merkel, Langston University; Bobby Maddox and Karen Talley, Hatch-RVA; and Neil Zahradka, Virginia Department of Environment Quality.
Dr. Dahlia O’Brien demonstrates use of the VSU-VCE Mobile Processing Unit.
The certification program consists of four online modules and a hands-on module at VSU-VCE’s Randolph Farm. Through these modules, participants learn how to process small-ruminant red meat safely, butcher consumer cuts, compost properly, manage waste and market their products.
To receive an MPU certification, participants must complete all assignments and quizzes, and submit a USDA Grant of Inspection for processing at their farm.
Once approved, these farmers may lease the MPU for processing at their own farms, which can save them about $1,865 per MPU-lease event based on the average cost of using a traditional meat-processing facility and the cost associated with round-trip transportation.
“I have taken many, many courses in my life but I cannot think of one that was as worthwhile, useful, and enlightening as the Mobile Processing Unit certification course, particularly the hands-on Saturday and Sunday sessions,” said Bill Rogers, an MPU Certification student and small farmer from Shenandoah County, Va.
The MPU is available for lease to farmers who have successfully completed the VSU-VCE MPU Certification Program and have received a USDA Grant of Inspection.
For more information, visit https://www.ext.vsu.edu/mobile-processing-unit
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