Where To Buy A Mobile Slaughterhouse

Where To Buy A Mobile Slaughterhouse LIVESTOCK Beef If you’re looking to get into the mobile butchering business there are several custom trailer manufacturers who can build you one including TriVan Truck Body Brothers Body and Equipment Featherlite and others Since building their first one in 2004 TriVan has built a number of other mobile processing plants for farmers “We’ve built units that range from 36 ft to 53 ft long ” says Bob Lodder TriVan Truck Body “We’ve done poultry processing trailers and large animal units Right now we are working on projects as diverse as fish processing and cheese making ” TriVan’s first trailer was for a group of farmers in the San Juan Islands in Washington state featured in Vol 27 No 5 TriVan is now completing one that’s non-mobile The 53-ft by 10-ft by 14-ft high enclosure is a turnkey slaughter and processing facility for a farm in northern British Columbia “We’ve been getting more calls on mobile slaughter units as people discover they’re more economical and can produce higher quality meat ” says Lodder “Meat quality suffers when you transport animals long distances ” Lodder says a basic 36-ft slaughter facility can process 10 head of beef 24 head of cattle or 40 head of sheep per day with two butchers on hand The on-board cooler will hold about 6 000 lbs of carcasses A single butcher can operate the facility but at lower capacity Fully equipped with a generator and all equipment needed the mobile slaughterhouse will cost around $175 000 While the unit is designed for slaughter processing the carcass into cuts would need to be done at a second location A processing facility can be included in a larger unit “The strength of our company is we are a custom builder ” says Lodder “We can add storage under the trailer extended beams for hanging animals out the back and chutes to remove the offal ” TriVan custom trailers can take from 14 to 20 weeks from order to delivery depending on specifications Finished slaughter facilities meet all USDA inspection and licensing requirements Lodder suggests having basic needs in mind when talking to a manufacturer such as TriVan “The big questions are capacity and type of animal ” he says “What kind of maneuverability do you need to get the trailer to the farms? What is your goal in terms of animals per day? The type of animal determines the meat rail system height of the trailer and more ” Brothers Body and Equipment has built on-farm poultry processing trailers for New England producers The company has designs for large animal facilities as well “We establish what kind of equipment you want the volume you want to do and the equipment needed for the process you want to use ” says company representative Tim Horn “Our large breed 53-ft semi trailer runs from $100 000 to $150 000 depending on options ” Another company that has built a mobile slaughter unit is Flat River Corp General manager Jerry Eisenmenger says “I think they have a lot of potential for the small producer who happens to live in an area where local locker plants are no longer available ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup TriVan Truck Body 1385 W Smith Rd Ferndale Wash 98248 ph 360 380-0773; toll free 866 874-8261; blodder@trivan com; www trivan com ; or Brothers Body and Equipment LLC P O Box 926 Galion Ohio 44833 ph 419 462-1975; info@BrothersBAndE com; www brothersbande com ; or Featherlite Trailers P O Box 320 Cresco Iowa 52136 ph 563 547-6000; toll free 800 800-1230; communications@fthr com; www fthr com ; or Flat River Corp P O Box 1615 Columbus Neb 68602 ph 402 562-6888; toll free 800 310-8772; flatriv@frontiernet net; www flatrivercorp com

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