USDA on July 28 approved a regulatory plan that allows Oregon to revive its state meat inspection program.

The goal is to expand opportunities for small-scale processors who can’t sell commercially because the meat they process is not federally inspected. Oregon has just 13 USDA-inspected facilities statewide; the new program will allow the state to also do inspections, though state-inspected meat can only be sold within Oregon.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has finalized a cooperative agreement with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, giving ODA authority to inspect meat produced for shipment within the state.

Lauren Henderson, ODA’s deputy director, has been talking for decades about re-establishing the state inspection program to increase Oregon’s slaughter and processing capacity. ODA’s previous state inspection program ended in 1971 due to budget cuts.

When the pandemic hit and producers struggled to move meat due to a shortage of inspection services, officials started talking more seriously about re-instituting state inspections.

In 2020, Oregon legislators passed a bill approving the state meat inspection program, and later approved $2 million in grants to help processors get started. Thursday’s approval from USDA was the final puzzle piece needed.

“I am so proud of our state, our partners and the many ODA staff that helped make Oregon’s State Meat Inspection Program a reality,” ODA director Alexis Taylor said in a statement.

USDA’s deputy undersecretary Sandra Eskin said she anticipates the program will strengthen the food system and help prevent supply chain bottlenecks.

“This program is especially helpful to small meat and poultry processors in building their local and state marketplaces,” said Eskin.

Oregon is now among 28 states with meat inspection programs.

Though Thursday’s move was applauded by many, some meat experts are skeptical the program is all it is chalked up to be.

At the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association convention last November, some ranchers and meat processors expressed concern that the program may not be the best use of taxpayer dollars. Outfitting a plant to meet inspection requirements is no small feat, they said, and the $2 million is just a drop in the bucket.

Henderson, of ODA, told cattlemen at the event that he fully anticipates going back before the Legislature in the future to secure more funding for the program long-term.

To meet the new state standards, processors will have to meet requirements “at least equal to those imposed under the Federal Meat Inspection Act,” according to USDA.

Some experts say that if a processor is going to shoulder the effort and expense to meet federal standards anyway — including installing fully washable walls, temperature controls and wastewater disposal systems — why wouldn’t it just become a USDA-inspected plant that can sell meat nationally rather than a state-inspected plant that can only sell within Oregon?

If a place is going to go through the trouble of coming under inspection, most of them will just go USDA-inspected, or they already are USDA-inspected, said Rebecca Thistlethwaite, director of Oregon State University’s Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network.

Thistlethwaite said she doesn’t expect many processors to utilize the state program.

Many officials, however, remain optimistic.

“This USDA approval will open up more processing options for our state’s hard-working agricultural producers,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.