[boxlunch]

Just heard a podcast by some homesteaders talking about this. Apparently there are contracts that bigger farmers sign with specific processing plants. They almost have to do this to protect themselves against lawsuits. When that processing plant gets closed, they legally cannot take the meat elsewhere, and because of their younger animals coming up in their own chain, the animals must be destroyed. They aren’t even allowed to sell the animals live to another farm. It is ridiculous and crazy, all because of regulations and lawsuits.

[RandFan]

Thanks for passing that on.

The USDA should be closed!

[Vigilanteman]

That sounds sort of like the cartel the sugar beet industry operated in the Red River Valley of the North when I was a pup. They would not buy beets unless you were a member of the cartel (which they called a co-op because it sounded so much nicer). If you grew more than your allotment, you could not sell beets outside the cartel. You could sell to a grower who had an allocation he was unable to fill, but that was about it.

Good luck finding such a grower.