Source: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Over 170 On-Farm Slaughter Operation licences issued in Alberta.
‘There is tremendous interest in Alberta’s new On-Farm Slaughter Operation (OFSO) licence providing opportunities for a real farm-to-fork food supply from Alberta livestock producers to Alberta consumers,’ says Wanda Aubee, executive director, food safety branch with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
In July 2020, the Government of Alberta amended the provincial Meat Inspection Regulation to allow for the licensing of this new operation. This licence allows a farmer to sell an animal direct to a consumer, with all the meat from that animal going to the purchaser of that animal for their own household consumption. This meat is uninspected and cannot be distributed or sold in any form, from any venue, including at the farm gate.
Agriculture and Forestry issued the first OFSO licence August 26, 2020, and to date there have been 177 licences issued in Alberta for possible on-farm direct to consumer slaughter and processing.
As of December 31, 2020, 728 animals were slaughtered under this new slaughter licence. The majority of animals slaughtered were poultry, at 442, followed by beef and pork, each at 79 head.
‘It is anticipated that the uptake of outdoor field slaughter under an OFSO licence will increase with the approach of warmer weather and as producers are better able to predict and build the demand for their animals into their business planning and herd/flock size,’ says Aubee.
Find out more about the On-Farm Slaughter Operation licence online, or email questions toaf.foodsafety@gov.ab.ca.
