Northern New York lacks USDA-inspected meat processing facilities, resulting in a bottleneck for producers as demand for locally raised meats climbs, according to reports.

"The livestock producers that already have year-round demand for their meat products are having trouble keeping stocked with retail cuts because they cannot get animals processed in the fall or winter," said Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County's Betsy Hodge.

Northern New York's six-county region currently has USDA-inspected processing facilities in Brasher, at Tri-Town Packing, and in Heuvelton at Willard's Meats. Regional processors are booked solid from September 1 to about April 1.

The fall season is the prime processing time for producers taking advantage of northern New York's vast land base for producing grass-fed livestock. Feeding livestock through the winter takes more equipment, more storage space for feed and animals, and possibly more purchased feed, so fall processing capacity is needed to reduce producer costs.

A producer survey indicates that most producers are interested in expanding their production of beef, sheep and pigs, and in having more animals processed.

 "The producers in Northern New York need to brainstorm how to utilize the existing processors more efficiently year-round, possibly by planning their production, developing different feeding strategies, and finding new markets," Hodge said.