Padilla farm LLC, based in the lower RIO grande valley of south texas, shares a common problem with small farms with animals to harvest: no federally or state inspected harvesting services in the…

Padilla Farm LLC received a $323,916 Project Grant award from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Regional Food System Partnerships program. The grant will support a feasibility study to address the lack of federally inspected meat processing facilities available to small farmers and ranchers in South Texas. Padilla Farm and partner organizations currently must travel over 400 miles roundtrip to access the nearest slaughterhouse, incurring significant costs in both time and money. The feasibility study aims to identify solutions that could motivate continued local meat production through more equitable access to processing. The two-year award period runs from October 2021 through October 2023.

Padilla farm LLC, based in the lower RIO grande valley of south texas, shares a common problem with small farms with animals to harvest: no federally or state inspected harvesting services in the vicinity. We are located on the U.S. Mexico border and travel over 400 miles (8 hours round trip) to a site in central texas (poth, texas) to deliver our animals to the nearest slaughterhouse site. Due to a lack of other facilities, our animals are queued for processing at a later date. We then make an additional trip (another 8 hours of travel) to pick up our products. This lack of access burdens small farmers and ranchers in south texas, a region of 25 counties south of SAN antonio. One large processer operates in corpus christi; however, IT will only accept large volume animal processing. Our partners-small ranchers, farmers with a mix of agricultural products and animals, and small businesses that raise their own animals for harvesting-are left with one site option and an inequity that other livestock producers in texas do not face. The situation creates a substantial disincentive to grow our production of quality animals such as grass-FED cattle for healthier choices for consumers and businesses that seek locally sourced meats. We expect that solutions identified in the study may call for significant funding. A feasibility study will ensure that future public and/or private investments will be sound and motivate our fellow producers to continue supplying proteins for the food chain.