CAN YOU HELP WITH SOME INFORMATION ON YOUR SHEEP FARM?

[NH homesteader]

Wow that's cheap! You found a good deal!

 

[mysunwolf]

Our USDA butcher charges $130 flat fee for sheep. USDA or not makes a big difference in price since USDA operations have to pay the inspector to be there during operating hours. We butcher our own for the household and that certainly brings the price down

As for the loophole that allows farmers to sell live animals to customers and then butcher them for free. While this is technically legal, multiple insurance agents and lawyers have warned us that we would be held accountable for any customers that decided to take legal action. As well as having the USDA/FDA/some other government agency come down on us for this practice. I know a lot of producers do this and get along just fine, but for us it's just not really worth it because our main goal is to raise meat for us rather than others.

In short, I agree with some of the previous posters: we have bigger problems for sheep producers in this country than cheap NZ imports.