York County Farmers' Network

The only on-farm, for sale, poultry processing that is allowed in Maine, without continuous inspection is under the “1000 bird exemption”. That exemption allows slaughter, processing and sale of 1000 birds or less annually as long as: they are your own birds, raised, slaughtered/processed and sold AT THE FARM, directly to the consumer. This exemption really has no regulations on the processing or facility itself. I think it says something like “sanitary practices are recommended” or something like that.

A year and a half ago, MOFGA introduced a bill, and Rep. Jeff Maccabe,D-Skowhegan sponsored it. It called for extending the 1000 bird exemption to allow sales to restaurants and at farmers’ markets. The sales to restaurants part was thrown out right away, by the dept of health + human services, I’m told. Sales at farmers’ markets stayed in, BUT the dept of ag added a stipulation saying that their quality assurance+reg division is to make rules to support the changes. That, as planned, in my opinion, opened the door for the dept of ag to virtually do away with the poultry exemption altogether, because they never have liked it for various reasons. The bill was passed unanimously by the legislature and signed into law by the governor last June.

Then, as expected, when the rules committee did their thing, they called for virtually the same facilities that are required for licensed, state inspected slaughterhouses. That is not worth doing at the 1000 bird per year level.

So, enough of us squawked, at the public hearing, that the revised rules that got sent to the committee do allow outdoor slaughter/de-feathering. The rest of the process must, however, still be in a building with washable walls and ceilings and drains in the floor, hot and cold running water, hand washing stations, etc. If the measure passes, as written, even with the revisions, it will be against the law for ANYONE to kill a chicken and sell it, even to his next door neighbor, without a state approved FACILITY. The only ones that spoke in favor of the proposed new rules at the hearing, other than dept of ag employees, was the maine alt poultry guy and the coopp guy, because they already have a facility(state funded in the case of coopp) that’s licensed and inspected. So, that’s politics I guess:)

Anyway here is a link to the committee that has it now. If you would or know anyone else that would contact these guys, asking them to consider the hardship these rules will impose on small poultry farmers, that would be great.
http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/jt_com/acf.htm

Thank you,

Rick Stanley

www.chickfarm.com

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