More Maine Meat
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 8, Issue 1 - June 2015
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Maine’s abundant rainfall and forage production capability, along with the consumer movement to buy local, buy direct from the farmer, and the recent emphasis on grass based meats indicate that many livestock Northeast enterprises have the capacity to flourish but have not reached their potential. A stakeholder group was assembled by the Maine Sustainable Agriculture Society (MESAS) to determine how to significantly increase the number of animals born, raised, processed and marketed in Maine. University of Maine Cooperative Extension (UMaine Extension) partnered with them and initiated the More Maine Meat project. Challenges to meeting this goal needed to be identified through review of current data and survey of those in the industry. One activity of the project was a survey of livestock producers, to better understand the needs and opportunities within the industry and to help establish and implement an appropriate plan of action. Two-hundred eight producer responses to an electronic survey showed the three primary barriers to increasing herds or flocks were feed costs, access to capital, and processor availability. Additional barriers included labor costs and lack of handling facilities.
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