MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — Gov. Larry Rhoden has signed a bill intended to expand direct-to-consumer meat sales in South Dakota, but the law is written to take effect only if Congress first changes federal rules that currently restrict those transactions.
The measure would allow consumers to buy individual cuts of meat directly from a producer even if the animal was processed at a “custom-exempt” meat locker, which is not subject to federal carcass-by-carcass inspection requirements under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, according to reporting by KOTA-TV.
Under current practice, consumers often buy a whole or partial animal from a producer and then have it processed at a custom-exempt facility. The new state law is structured as a “trigger” that would permit certain direct sales only after a change in federal law.
KOTA-TV reported the bill applies to meat from cattle, sheep, swine or goats raised by the producer for at least 90 days and processed in South Dakota at a custom-exempt plant, with sales limited to direct, in-person transactions at locations such as the producer’s residence or a farmers market.
Rep. John Shubeck, R-Beresford, the bill’s prime sponsor, told South Dakota Searchlight that meat processed at custom-exempt lockers is already widely consumed.