Local Meat Processing Support Program
The Local Meat Processing Support Program aims to improve processing bottlenecks for livestock farmers in the Berkshire-Taconic Region, supporting livestock producer viability and the availability of local meat products for consumers.
The rationale for this program emerged from a series of feasibility studies performed by Kitchen Table Consultants, a nationally recognized food and farm business consultancy.
The cornerstone of the program is the work BAV is doing with existing processors, providing them with technical assistance; supporting them in applying for state and federal grants; offering them low interest flexible loans for plant improvement, working capital, new equipment, updated food safety plans, and workforce training and retention.
To see the full suite of the services we are providing meat processors read our BAV Meat Processor Support Program Pamphlet.
If you are a meat processor, livestock farmer, or a stakeholder in the local livestock/meat supply chain and interested in receiving technical assistance or financial support please fill out this inquiry form. If you have any questions please reach out to Jake Levin, Local Meat Processing Support Program Manager at jake@berkshireagventures.org.
If you are a livestock farmer or a processor, visit the Local Meat Processing Resources page for a processing directory, resource guide, The Meat Up newsletter, Listserv - and more!
BAV and AgriForaging Food Safety are proud to be partnering and introduce our State & Federal Meat & Poultry Compliance Food Safety HACCP Hotline – your direct line to expertise, guidance, and peace of mind. Click the image to learn more.
The Local Meat Processing Support Fund
In order to support the work we are doing with processors we have created the Local Meat Processing Support Fund. This fund is dedicated to covering the costs of the technical assistance being provided by consultants like Kitchen Table Consultants and Agri-Foraging, and a revolving loan fund for processors and key infrastructure development projects. To learn more about our approach, please click here.
The administration of this program and the associated fund is underwritten by a Regional Food Systems Partnership grant BAV received from the office of Agricultural Marketing Services of the USDA. This grant allows BAV to dedicate the fund to processors and the development of key infrastructure projects. The grant also helps us to facilitate the partnership between key regional partners as well as Kitchen Table Consultants. Besides KTC, our partners on this grant are Berkshire Grown, 1Berkshire, and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
We have also convened a Livestock Working Group made up of various stakeholders in meat processing to help guide our work. The Livestock Working Group has been convened in partnership with Berkshire Grown. Currently the Livestock Working Group is made up of 10 members. We have five farmers, two processors, two local meat purchasers/distributors, and a regional service provider.
The purpose of the Livestock Working Group is to improve communication between producers, processors, service provider organizations, and other key stakeholders in the region while identifying next steps for long-term solutions to improving meat processing systems.
For further information about the Livestock Working Group please contact Ren Constas at ren@berkshiregrown.org.
One of the purposes of convening the Livestock Working Group is to help identify key areas where we can help to develop plans for strengthening some of the critical infrastructure needed for a resilient and vibrant livestock processing system in our region. Some of the infrastructure areas we have already identified as needing further investment and development include cold-storage, transportation, and cooperative marketing/branding.
We are taking a holistic approach to this problem and are addressing it with wraparound services so that the whole system can grow and strengthen together. The long term goal is to strengthen viability for livestock farmers and increase the local meat options for consumers in the Berkshire-Taconic Region.
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