Re: Selling meat at Farmers Markets

Sheryl N. Swink (sns7@cornell.edu)
Tue, 5 May 1998 12:39:23 -0500

I don't know if it will help your case, Greg, but the farmers market here
in Ithaca, NY sells what is locally produced and that includes meat,
poultry, eggs, yogurt and goat cheese as well as crafts, honey, maple
syrup, wine, annual and perennial starts, and more. Let your county health
department know that farms don't just produce "produce"! What governmental
agency is responsible for defining "farmers market" in your local? Here I
think the concept of the farmers market was worked out with the city
government (local). There may be other jurisdictions involved as well.

If it would be helpful to you, this Saturday I could ask the producers
selling meat and poultry at the Ithaca Farmers Market what hoops they had
to go through - who sets the rules and what they are. Obviously things may
operate differently from state to state and even locality to locality, but
it might be useful to have examples if you are talking to people who really
haven't dealt with this idea before.

Good luck,

Sheryl Swink

Graduate Student
International Agriculture and Rural Development
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
sns7@cornell.edu

> I finally got a phone call from the neighboring county health department
>about the requirements
>for selling state inspected meats at the farmers market. They left a
>message on my answering
>machine that by definition of farmers markets I can't sell anything
>besides produce at a farmers
>market. Anybody ever hear of anything like this? I wasn't asking them if
>I could sell pork at the
>farmers market. Just asking what I had to do to be legal. I called
>back and left my phone number
>and address for them to send me a copy of their regulations pertaining to
>produce only.
> I can see why nobody would want to jump through all the hoops to legally
>sell direct marketed meat.
>I can't even get an answer from the State Health Department on what the
>regulations are to retail meat
>in Indiana until Wednesday. They claimed they only have one person who
>knows what the regulations
>are. They couldn't even send me a copy. I'm gradually getting the
>impression they are making the rules
>up as we go along!
> Its kind of strange that I got a completely different message from the
>Secretary of Agriculture and
>President Clinton while serving on the USDA Small Farm Commission.
>Any suggestions would be appreciated. I'm not caving on this one. I am
>going to sell frozen state inspected
>pork at farmers markets.
>Best wishes,
>Greg Gunthorp
>Gunthorp's Pasture-ized Pork
>LaGrange, Indiana (a stones throw from Ohio & Michigan)
>hey4hogs@kuntrynet.com
>Visit our farm at www.grassfarmer.com
>
>
>
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