Frustrated by regulations, ranchers build slaughterhouse co-op

Ed Gross thinks connoisseurs of the “Eat Local” movement would jump at the chance to buy his beef. He manages about 300 head of Black Angus cattle for Spokane Hutterian Brethren, a Hutterite community west of Airway Heights. The cattle eat forage raised on the ranch, which practices environmental stewardship as a core value. “We’d like to promote our beef locally,” Gross said. But the lack of a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected slaughterhouse for small producers has stood in his way. Without the inspection, Gross and other Eastern Washington ranchers can’t sell steaks, hamburgers and other cuts directly to consumers, restaurants or grocery stores. A new plant in Odessa, Wash., aims to fill the void. The 7,000-square-foot slaughterhouse is a cooperative venture of local ranchers. Through the slaughterhouse and a parallel marketing effort, the ranchers plan to capitalize on interest in regional foods by providing discerning consumers with locally raised beef, pork, lamb and goat...more