Local Food Movement Has Made a Difference For Small Meat Processors

As more and more consumers seek out local food options, smaller and local meat processors have seen an increase in new customers becoming acquainted with a butcher/meat processor.
Jerry Haun, owner of Hauns Meat and Sausage near Walla Walla, Washington and Northwest Meat Processors Association Executive Secretary, shares that although there are currently less small and medium sized meat processors the popularity of purchasing a side of beef from a local rancher has been a boon to his industry and benefits the consumer with further education on the different cuts of meat.
Haun: “You are talking to the person who knows all of the cuts. People come in and we have cut sheets on different species of animals — beef, pork, lamb, and goat — and also on sausage options, smoking and curing options. We individually talk to every person who buys a portion of a beef or a half of a pork and we talk them through the customize cuts — that is why it is called custom meat cutting — to their needs. Some people don’t want something, then we say here are your options and they say, ‘Wow I didn’t know I could do that.’ When you go walking by the case in Costco or somewhere you pick up whatever or items you’ve eat before. That is a big part of it. All of us package the meat with the capability of freezer storage so people have meat in their freezer. I call it money in the bank. They can go to their freezer in the morning and pick out a cut of meat for their dinner that night.”