Meat Processing Feasibility Studies

Is this a good idea? Will it work for us? And what’s it going to cost?

Every meat processing plant needs the following equation to be successful: Capital + Customers + Talent/Staff = Potential Success. What is the best way to ensure these key parts of the equation are there? Write a feasibility study first (watch this webinar here to learn more about what these studies should contain). Then if the project appears feasible, write a business plan. Then pull together the financing. Then the design & permits. Then find the builders. You get the drill.

Building a successful meat processing business is far from easy. The feasibility studies listed below detail many of the complications, challenges, and costs (sometimes in great financial detail).

We want to caution all readers that these are only studies, not real life. Some even have mistakes (we marked the ones we found). Yet we collected all these studies here for you because even imperfect information is better than no information. Plus, we hope you’ll find the process used in these studies helpful as you plan your own business.

But wait, do you even need a feasibility study?

In 2015, we worked with a group of producers in California who had been considering a feasibility study for a new plant. They were interested in exploring multiple options: mobile slaughter, fixed facilities, red meat, poultry, etc. We worked with them to conduct a “pre-assessment”. A pre-assessment is a first pass at determining the feasibility of a new plant. It is faster and cheaper than conducting a full blown feasibility study: you use existing research and your own on-the-ground data gathering to answer a couple of key questions. This pre-assessment will help you decide if a) you even need a feasibility study and b) what that study would analyze. Try a pre-assessment first! Read more about it here:

Testing The Idea: Using Existing Research to Assess Meat Processing Options

Meat Processing Feasibility Studies: A Limited Library

We’ve collected as many studies as we know about here on this page. There are always new studies being conducted, so this is by no means an exhaustive list. Got a study you don’t see listed? Email us at nmpan@oregonstate.edu and we’ll get it added to this page.

West Coast
Mountain States
Southwest
Great Plains
Midwest
Northeast
Southeast
Hawaii & Alaska

West Coast

Washington

Southern Puget Sound, WA

An Assessment of Demand for a Mobile Slaughtering Unit in Pierce, King, Kitsap and Thurston Counties
By Georgine Yorgey (MPA student, University of Washington)
Date: 2008
Commissioned by the Puget Sound Meat Producers Cooperative
Link to full study

Central and South Puget Sound, WA

Meat Production and Processing: Infrastructure and Labor Study in the Central and South Puget Sound Region
By Mike Poteet, Pierce County Agricultural Planner
Date: 2013
Commissioned by Pierce and Thurston Counties
Link to full study

Oregon

South Coast, OR

South Coast Meat Processing and Marketing Project
By Keith DeHaan, Food & Livestock Planning
Date: 2011
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study (this study includes model business plans that could be adapted for meat processing and/or marketing businesses anywhere in the country)

SW Oregon

Rusted Gate Farm Mobile Slaughter Unit Business Plan
By Rebecca Thistlethwaite & Kathryn Quanbeck, Honest Meat Consulting LLC
Date: June 2022
Commissioned by non-profit Rusted Gate Farm
Link to full plan
Link to financial Appendix B with financing, Appendix C with grants/donations, and Appendix D with grants/donations & breakeven pricing

California

Inyo & Mono Counties, CA

Final Report: Natural Livestock Feasibility Study
By Jeff Schahczenski, National Center for Appropriate Technology
Date: 2009
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

North Coast Region, CA

“Meat Industry Capacity and Feasibility Study of the North Coast Region of California”
By Shermain Hardesty, John Harper, and others from University of California, Davis, UC Cooperative Extension, and The Facilities Group
Date: 2009
Commissioned by the Mendocino County Economic Development and Financing Corporation
Link to full study

A follow-up study was completed in 2013:

“Mendocino County Meat Plant Study”
By Shermain Hardesty and John Harper
Date: 2013
Commissioned by the Mendocino County Economic Development and Financing Corporation
Link to full study

Tuolumne County, CA

Capitalization and Operating Financial Estimate for USDA Inspected Livestock Processing in Tuolumne County, California
By Bruce Dunlop, Lopez Island Farm
Date: February 2005
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

Tuolumne County, CA*

“Facilitating Direct Sales of Meat Products in Tuolumne County: A Progress Report”
By Jay Norton, University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor, Tuolumne County, Sonora, CA; jbnorton@ucdavis.edu
Date: March 2006
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

Siskiyou County, CA

Siskiyou Slaughter Facility: Preliminary Feasibility Study and Action Plan
By Calaveras Grown
Date: September 2012
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

Calaveras County, CA*

Final Link: Getting Livestock from Farm to Fork
By Great Northern Corporation and Economic Development “On Call”
Date: July 2005
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

South & East Bay (San Francisco Area), CA

Characterizing Demand for Local Meat Processing: A Needs Assessment for Livestock Processing Services in San Francisco’s East and South Bay
By Susan Ellsworth, Alameda County Resource Conservation District
Date: December 2015
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

Central Coast/Monterey Bay Region, CA

Options for Increased Processing Capacity in California’s Central Coast Region
By Kathryn Quanbeck, former NMPAN Program Manager, along with Ecological Farming Association and California Center for Cooperative Development
Date: October 2015
Commissioned by the Ecological Farming Association with funding from USDA AMS Local Foods Promotion Program
Link to full studyCentral Coast Project Report FINAL (Oct.2015).pdf

Mountain States

Nevada

Mobile Slaughter Unit Costs and Revenues: Projections from Nevada
By Kynda Curtis, Assistant Professor, Department of Resource Economics, University of Nevada, Reno
2007
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study (with NMPAN comments)

Locally Produced Livestock Processing and Marketing Feasibility Assessment
By University of Nevada, Reno
2007
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

Idaho

Strategies to Increase Prosperity for Small Farms Through Sustainable Livestock Production, Processing and Marketing
Project Director: Darin Saul, PhD, Office of Community Partnerships
Date: January 2014
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study

Montana

Beaverhead County, MT*

“Feasibility of a Beef Processing Plant In Beaverhead County, Montana”
By Food and Livestock Planning, Inc.
Date: July 2006
Commissioned and sponsored by Headwaters R, C & D and Beaverhead Economic Development Corporation
Link to full study

Montana (statewide)

“One Montana Meat Processing Facility Feasibility Study”
By One Montana
Date: September 2014
Commissioned and sponsored by One Montana, a Bozeman, MT based non-profit
Link to full study

Utah

“Potential for Growth in Local Processing and Sales of Utah Beef”
By Utah State University Extension and Utah Department of Agriculture & Food
Date: December 2020
Commissioned by UDAF
Link to full study.

Wyoming

Mobile Slaughter Unit for Wyoming: Assessment of Need and Values
Dave Fischer and Jim Bennage, Sheridan College
Date: July 2004
Commissioned by Wyoming Business Council, Wyoming Rural Development Council, Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Sheridan Community College, and local livestock producers
Link to full study

Southwest

know of any studies for the Southwest? Email us! nmpan@oregonstate.edu

Great Plains

know of any studies for the Great Plains? Email us! nmpan@oregonstate.edu

Midwest

Northeast Iowa

“Feasibility Study For A Niche Multiple Species Meat Plant Located in Northeast Iowa”
By Food and Livestock Planning, Inc. and ProAnd International, Ltd.
Date: April 2002
Commissioned by Upper Mississippi Family Meats Cooperative, with Blooming Prairie & CROPP Cooperatives
Link to full study

Michigan

The Feasibility of Establishing a Stand Along USDA Inspected Poultry Processing Facility for Independent Producers in SE Michigan
By Wendy Banka of Might Fine Poultry Processing LLC
Date: December 2016
Full study here: MightyFineFeasibiltyStudy2015-2016_3.pdf
Final USDA LFPP report 2018, Architectural & Business Plans for Multi-Species Poultry Plant: Final MFPP Report.pdf

Michigan Meat Processing Capacity Assessment Final Report
By Jeannine Schweihofer, Sarah Wells, Steve Miller, Rich Pirog (Michigan State University)
Date: September 2014
While not a feasibility study, per se, this publication details results from a 2014 study of meat processors in Michigan. MSU Extension and Center for Regional Food Systems Livestock Work Group members surveyed processors to better understand the state of the Michigan meat industry. The report includes details of the demographics of Michigan’s meat processor operations, the types of business that exist, markets that the businesses serve, and some of the operators’ future business plans. A corresponding map of meat processing and slaughter facilities in Michigan is available on the MSU Extension website.
Link to full study

Northeast

Vermont

Slaughterhouse Feasibility Report
By: Sleeping Lion Associates
Date: April 2005
Commissioned by Pride of Vermont
Link to full study

Connecticut River Valley (CT, MA, VT)

Demand and Options for Local Meat Processing: Finding the way from pasture to market in the CT River Valley
By: Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
Date: 2008
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study (with NMPAN comments)

New York

New York: Southern Tier West

Southern Tier West: The Invigoration of Local Livestock and Processing Industries
By: Kitchen Table Consultants
Date: November 2015
Commissioned by the Southern Tier West Regional Planning & Development Board , Funded by USDA-AMS
Link to full study

New York: Hudson Valley

Meat Processing Facility Feasibility Study
By: Shepstone Management Company
Date: January 2000
Commissioned by the Hudson Valley Livestock Marketing Task Force
Link to full study

Western Massachusetts

Confronting Challenges in the Local Meat Industry: Focus on the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts
By: Ellen Dickenson, Spirit Joseph and Jonathan Ward. Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Date: 2014
Commissioned by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
This study consists of two valuable tools that can be utilized anywhere:
- Cash Flow Template for a Small Meat Plant: CISA designed the template in 2008 to test the financial feasibility of establishing a small-scale, low-tech, mixed species slaughterhouse and processing facility in Western Massachusetts. CISA partnered with a small group of farmers to estimate cash flow inputs for building or renovating a small-scale slaughter and processing facility. Based on this, they developed a cash flow projection and Profit and Loss Statement, in template format for others to use.
- CISA Feasibility Template for a Small-Scale Meat Processor (cut & wrap only): This feasibility template was designed to help test the economic viability of establishing a small-scale meat-processing facility. It assumes the facility will not slaughter animals, but will instead receive whole animal carcasses, halves, or quarters, which will then be further processed. This template can provide a quick analysis of a potential business, as well as the relevant criteria to consider. The template, however, should not be the sole tool used in your determination.

Southeast

North Carolina

Report on the Feasibility of a Small-scale Small-animal Slaughter Facility for Independent meat Producers in North Carolina
By: Smithson Mills, North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Date: 2007
Commissioned by local livestock producers
Link to full study (with NMPAN comments)

Virginia

A Study of Small Volume Red-Meat Processing in Virginia
By: Matson Consulting
Date: 2020
Commissioned by Virginia FAIRS
Link to full study

Hawaii & Alaska

know of any studies for Hawaii & Alaska? Email us! thistler@oregonstate.edu