Red Meat Map and Chart

STATE	CUSTOM SLAUGHTER (9CFR 303.1)	OWNERS PER ANIMAL (No limit per USDA)	ON FARM SLAUGHTER (Producer, owner, or both)
Alabama	Yes. Requires a custom exempt Grant of Inspection.	No limit. Paperwork requirements are owner’s name, address, tag number, and animal description.	Owner may field dress. Producer may not field dress. Field dressed cattle must be 30 months or younger due to BSE. Processing plants may have the option of not accepting field dressed animals.
Alaska	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Arizona	Yes. Requires a license.	One owner only.	The producer may not field dress. The owner may slaughter on farm if licensed as an exempt mobile slaughterer. Otherwise, the slaughter must be done by the custom exempt facility.
Arkansas	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
California	Yes.	No limit.	If the live animal is sold to the owner, it must be transported to the owner’s property to be slaughtered or to a California Department of Food and Agriculture licensed custom livestock slaughter facility or to a USDA inspected slaughter facility.
Colorado	Yes. Requires a license.	No limit.	Both producer and owner may slaughter and then transport carcass to a licensed facility for further processing.
Connecticut	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Delaware	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Florida	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Georgia	Yes.	No limit.	Owner may slaughter. Producer may not.
Hawaii	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Idaho	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Illinois	Yes.	No limit.	No field dressing.
Indiana	Yes.	No limit, but “typically not more than four.”	Owner may slaughter. Producer may not.
Iowa	Yes.	No limit.	Producer or owner may field dress. Custom facility has option to refuse to process field dressed animals.
Kansas	Yes.	No limit.	Owner may slaughter. Producer may not.
Kentucky	Yes.	No limit.	No slaughtering by owner or producer.
Louisiana	Yes.	No limit.	Producer or owner may field dress.
Maine	Yes.	No limit.	Producer or owner may field dress.
Maryland	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Massachusetts	Yes. Requires a state license.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Michigan	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Minnesota	Yes.	Guidelines (but not regulations on the books): Minimum order for beef is ¼. Minimum order for a hog is ½.	Producer may slaughter. Owner may not. Producer could also hire someone with a mobile slaughter unit that is licensed to slaughter on the farm.
Mississippi	Yes.	Up to four owners per animal.	Only owner can field dress.
Missouri	Yes.	No limit.	Producer or owner may field dress.
Montana	Yes.	No limit. Beef/cattle/horses need a change of ownership inspection when the animal is sold, and all owners must be named on the document transferring ownership.	Neither producer nor owner may slaughter. Slaughter must be done in a licensed facility.
Nebraska	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Nevada	Yes.	No limit.	Neither producer nor owner may field dress.
New Hampshire	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
New Jersey	Yes.	No limit.	Neither producer nor owner may field dress. Slaughter must be done in the exempt facility.
New Mexico	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
New York	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
North Carolina	Yes.	No limit.	Producer or owner may slaughter.
North Dakota	Yes.	No limit.	Neither producer nor owner may slaughter.
Ohio	Yes.	Limited to four owners.	Producer or owner may field dress but must be done on owner’s property.
Oklahoma	No.	N/A	N/A
Oregon	Yes.	No limit.	Neither producer nor owner may field dress.
Pennsylvania	Yes.	No limit.	Defer to USDA.
Rhode Island	Yes. Requires a license.	Only one owner per animal according to department policy. This limitation is not in either statute or regulation.	Producer or owner may slaughter.
South Carolina	No.	N/A	N/A
South Dakota	Yes.	No limit.	Farm slaughter okay only if done by a representative of a licensed facility.
Tennessee	Yes.	No limit.	Producer or owner may field dress.
Texas	Yes.	No limit. Each owner has their own cut sheet and pays for their own processing.	Only owner may field dress. No field dressing of cattle under BSE rules.
Utah	Yes.	No limit.	Owner may field dress on their own property. A licensed mobile slaughterer may go to the owner’s land, field dress the animal, and transport it to a custom processing facility.
Vermont	Yes.	No limit. Owner must sign an owner’s certification for the animals.	Producer or owner may field dress.
Virginia	Yes.	No limit.	Owner may field dress. Producer may not field dress.
Washington	Yes.	No limit.	Producer may field dress.
West Virginia	Yes.	Limited to two owners. This is policy, not found in either statutes or regulations.	The owner may slaughter and deliver to the custom exempt facility. Producer may not slaughter unless producer has a license.
Wisconsin	Yes.	Limit of four owners if slaughter is done at a custom facility. If done on the farm through a mobile slaughtering unit, there may only be one owner.	Producer or owner may field dress but must be on owner’s premises.
Wyoming	Yes.	No limit, but must prove ownership by bill of sale.	Producer or owner may field dress.

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May 10, 2017
Copyright © 2010-2018 Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund www.farmtoconsumer.org. The chart is the property of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF). This chart may not be reproduced or altered without the express, written permission of FTCLDF, and if permission is granted, all reproductions must cite FTCLDF as the source of the original material. This chart is not intended to be used as or construed as legal advice.

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GLOSSARY

BSE – Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (also known as mad cow disease)

Customer – owner of an animal other than farmer

Defer to USDA – state adopts federal regulations governing on-farm slaughter

Field dress – killing, bleeding, and skinning (exact definition can vary state to state). For purposes of this chart, the words “slaughter” and “field dress” are used interchangeably.

Producer – farmer

Slaughter – same as “field dress”. For purposes of this chart, the words “slaughter” and “field dress” are used interchangeably.