TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The governor's office cut just under 50% of the budget for the Indiana Board of Animal Health.
Nikki Royer is a fifth generation farmer in Clinton, Indiana. She sells meat from cows, chickens, sheep and other animals to customers in the Wabash Valley. Her booming business may soon come to a screeching halt.
"If our meat can't be inspected we can't sell our meat," Royer’s Farm owner Nikki Royer said.
Recent state budget cuts could slash a little less than half of the meat inspector jobs.
"I can appreciate the need for everyone to be more efficient because the budgets aren't growing they are getting smaller," Royer said.
State meat inspectors visit processing plants like Uselman Packing Company in Clinton, Indiana multiple times a week.
"But the challenge is in our busy season May through November our business alone keeps our meat cutter busy three days a week," Royer said.
Fewer inspectors would mean fewer visits to processing plants.
"If we are not getting our meat inspected, then we don't have the product to sell so it could have a dramatic effect," Royer said.
A Purdue University study says the meat coming out of state inspected meat facilities contributes to more than $35 million annually to the economy.
"If the government expects us to have state inspected meat then we need to have access to the inspectors," Royer said.
“We have a total of 52 meat inspectors right now (that number does not include 4 vacancies that we have not had the funding to fill). That number is going to ultimately shrink to roughly 34 or 35, depending on how the schedule changes work with the plants,” Public Information Director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health Denise Derrer said.
State officials also provided WTHI-TV the following information:
Background on Impacts of State Budget Cuts to the Indiana Meat and Poultry Inspection Program at the Board of Animal Health (BOAH)
4 Key Points if state funding for Indiana’s Meat and Poultry Program is reduced by 50 percent:
1. Has serious negative economic impact on state AND local communities.
2. Causes job loss not only at the Board of Animal Health (BOAH) but in local communities.
3. Eliminates the freezer meat business in Indiana.
4. Eliminates a safe local food choice (freezer meat).
What does the state budget cut to meat and poultry inspections mean to my community?
• The estimated increase in value to the state’s economy from direct marketing of freezer meat processed through Indiana’s 134 state inspected facilities is estimated to be over $35,852,749. This is on average $267,558 per facility. This does not include the nearly 32,000 poultry processed in these facilities each year as well.
• These facilities process:
o 30,000 head of beef valued over $27,144,89
o 41,000 hogs valued over $6,916,876
o 8,000 lambs valued over $1,100,835
o 3,100 goats valued over $690,144
What are the unintended consequences from this funding cut?
• The state, as well as many small communities, will see serious negative economic impact. State inspected facilities could close due to the inability to meet federal standards. Many of the state inspected facilities are small, family-owned businesses. With the reduction of state inspectors, one option for small meat processors to continue doing business as usual is for federal inspectors to take over inspecting their facilities. As with many federal versus state programs, the federal program is much more rigorous due to the expanded options federal inspected meat facilities can do with their product such as sell over state and country lines. Meeting federal standards will require most if not all facilities to upgrade their facilities at an estimated additional of $250,000 per facility. The average value of meat leaving a state-inspected facility is $267,558, so most facilities will not be able to financially afford to make these upgrades to meet the federal standards. This will cause them to close their doors.
• The impact of jobs lost and unemployment is greater than the line item cut to BOAH. The unemployment compensation to the state’s economy could be very large if this reduction in state funding (50 percent) remains. Why?
o Because it will result in a reduction in the local workforce, not only at BOAH resulting from a reduction in inspectors, but also at state inspected plants across the state. If plants cannot process under state inspection, a large majority of them will be forced to do only “custom exempt” processing. Since this is a limited market (process animals for personal use only, not for sale), it eliminates opportunity for individual processor growth, will reduce work force requirements in those plants, and many will close their doors.
o More than 1600 employees could potentially lose their jobs at state inspected facilities because of the budget cut at BOAH.
o If a facility IS able to meet federal standards, there is guaranteed to be lag time as the federal government will have to hire and train more inspectors
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