Moo-ve over, federal meat inspectors. There’s a new inspection protocol open to New Mexico meat producers and processors.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Mexico Livestock Board after years of preparation have finalized a plan for a state-run meat and poultry inspection program, allowing local producers to sell those products after they’ve been processed at facilities monitored by state — rather than federal — authorities.
The agreement, which went into effect Thursday, will offer producers another avenue for inspection, a process that confirms animals are safe for human consumption, said Eddie Behrends, executive manager of meat and poultry inspection at the state Livestock Board.
“If you can’t get into a federally inspected plant, or there’s not one that’s convenient for you, this allows other plants that are in different areas to come under state inspection. … They can provide that service, and then you can sell the animals,” he said.
Behrends acknowledged the additional inspection options won’t fix some of the other issues facing New Mexico ranchers, like prolonged drought, aging producers, rising costs and the lack of qualified butchers. But, he said, it might bolster the state’s prolific ranching culture — at a time when federal policy favors beef consumption.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins in a statement celebrated New Mexico as the 31st state with an approved meat and poultry inspection program.
“New Mexico’s approval reflects our commitment to empowering small and very small processors, supporting local producers, and increasing resilience in the supply chain while protecting consumers with safe, wholesome and properly labeled food,” Rollins said.
High steaks inspections
Behrends described the coronavirus pandemic as the “big kicker” that prompted the state to launch its meat inspection program.
At the time, grocery stores hardly had any meat on their shelves — but a drive through rural New Mexico invariably featured views of grazing beef cattle. The phenomenon created a question for consumers, Behrends said: “There’s cattle right there. How come I can’t get the meat?”
The problem stemmed from nationwide meat processing capacity issues. As COVID-19 spread among processing plant workers, facilities were forced to slow assembly lines or shut down, creating a backlog.
The few meat processors in New Mexico with U.S. Department of Agriculture approval — a federal designation that allows ranchers to sell meat processed in those facilities — couldn’t keep up with demand. Custom exempt meat processors couldn’t fill the gap; those facilities aren’t subject to as rigorous inspection requirements since they slaughter and butcher livestock for personal use only.
“We didn’t have enough processors that were inspected to where they could sell their meat to the locals, to the neighbors, to grocery stores and all that,” Behrends said. “And so, we felt like we needed another avenue for these processors to take their animals to, and then be able to sell that product.”
New Mexico lawmakers in 2024 unanimously passed Senate Bill 37, authorizing the state Livestock Board to develop a state meat and poultry inspection program. Behrends, who has been in the meat industry for his entire career, was hired to make that happen. He and his team have been working on the program — which requires federal recognition and cooperation — ever since.
The state program must meet or exceed the federal food safety standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That means inspectors at state-approved facilities must examine the live animal prior to harvest, as well as the animal’s carcass and parts after slaughter, to ensure the product is wholesome, unadulterated and safe for human consumption, according to Behrends.
Inspectors are also responsible for ensuring processing facilities are sanitary, free from pests and adhere to appropriate food-handling protocols.
“We have to make sure that our state inspectors do the same things, follow the same regulations and know the same rules and everything that the federal inspectors do,” Behrends said.
Crucially, he noted, the Livestock Board can’t force any facility to undergo a state inspection. U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved facilities in the state can maintain their federal designation — which, notably, allows them to sell their meat across state lines. Custom exempt meat processing facilities can continue operating as such without adhering to the state meat inspection requirements.
But Behrends said “the first thing that’ll change” as the state implements its own meat inspection program is outreach to custom exempt processors.
Jim Weber/New Mexican file photo
“USDA was required to visit them at least once a year. We’re going to try to get to them once every three or four months,” he said. “And it’s not to walk in and say, ‘Aha, you’re doing this wrong. We’re going to shut you down.’ It’s, ‘How’re y’all doing? Is there anything we can help with?’ ”
Several custom exempt processors have said they plan to stay that way, Behrends said, but a couple are interested in coming under state inspection.
He said there are still some “unknowns” in what demand for inspection will look like.
“We still have to make sure that the plant follows all the rules,” Behrends said.
Industry response
Tom Paterson, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, welcomed the state meat inspection program as “something we have worked on on a bipartisan basis for for several years.”
In particular, Paterson argued having state-inspected facilities will relieve pressure on those that have secured U.S. Department of Agriculture approval, which can struggle with long wait times. Delayed slaughter creates more costs for ranchers, who have to feed a growing animal for even longer.
“It’s a big deal for New Mexico consumers who want to buy New Mexico … grass-raised beef from a rancher,” he said. “It’s big for ranchers because now they can sell that to New Mexico consumers.”
Don Martinez, who owns and operates Zenitram Industries — a federally certified meat-processing plant in El Rito that specializes in slaughtering and butchering lambs and goats — called federal approval of the state’s meat inspection plan a “really good” thing. He noted, though, the prohibition on selling state-inspected meat across state lines might limit options for some producers, especially those close to state borders.
“There’s room for a lot of folks,” he said, adding the change could result in another processing plant in the state or enable more local food vendors to buy their meat close to home.
Manny Encinias, a fifth-generation rancher who raises cattle at Buffalo Creek Ranch in Moriarty and sells beef under the Trilogy Beef name, isn’t yet sold on the state meat inspection program.
He argued standing up the program isn’t the most judicious way to use taxpayer dollars since it’s likely to result in relatively few changes. Meanwhile, state-inspected facilities will be held to the same standards as federally inspected ones, meaning there’s no change in food safety, either.
“It’ll open up some slots for a few more producers, but it’s not going to just drastically change the access to locally produced meat. … There’s just not the supply right now of cattle, and again with the drought coming on as hard as it did this summer, there’s a lot of people that were forced to already liquidate cattle,” Encinias said.
Still, he trusts Behrends and his team at the state Livestock Board to implement the program well.
“The man holding the reins is the right man to be holding the reins, and he’s got a great team underneath him,” Encinias said.
“Is it going to open up a lot of avenues? I don’t think it will, but for those that it does, it’s going to make sure that consumers are going to have access to the safest meat,” he said.
Margaret O’Hara reports on issues affecting healthy communities in New Mexico. Her work is funded by a grant from Anchorum Health Foundation. Anchorum will not have any role in editorial decisions. The New Mexican and its Public Service Journalism Fund retain full editorial control. Philanthropically funded stories by The New Mexican are made available to all readers without a paywall.
