The Journey of a Pork Chop: From Farm to Plate
Meat sales in the U.S. are highly regulated by the federal government. To sell meat by the individual cut, it must be harvested and processed under the watchful eye of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). At Alluvial Farms, we’ve been processing all of our pork under USDA inspection since our second year of business. Over the past ten years, we’ve worked with all the USDA-inspected processors in our region to ensure the highest quality and safety standards.
The two primary processors we've partnered with are Del Fox, operating for the North Cascades Meat Processors Cooperative who we worked with from 2016 to 2022, and our current processor, Island Grown Farmers Cooperative (IGFC), since 2022 to the current day. We’ve also worked with Heritage Meats south of Olympia for curing and slaughter services (2016-2022), Pure Country Harvest in Moses Lake for slaughter (2024), and Jack Mountain Meats in Burlington for curing and smoking (2022-present).
The Path of a Pork Chop
I’ve put together the following infographic to show the journey a pork chop takes to get to your plate.
IGFC is a tremendous asset to small-scale farmers in our region, offering high-quality artisanal cutting and wrapping services along with exceptional customer care. Since its inception 20 years ago, their primary mission has been to serve family farms like ours.
Historically, IGFC conducted all slaughter operations through a USDA-inspected mobile processing unit. This mobile unit would travel from their original plant in Bow to each farm, accompanied by a USDA inspector to oversee each slaughter. Below is a photo of IGFC’s mobile slaughter unit in operation last year at Alluvial Farms, stationed outside our composting facility.
IGFC’s New Facility
In 2021, IGFC made a major upgrade by completing a cutting and wrapping facility and retail space at the Port of Skagit. This new state-of-the-art facility is part of a “food campus,” or an industrial park shared by other businesses like the Bread Lab, Cainspring Mills, and other local food producers. IGFC now operates out of this location, which has greatly improved their service capabilities. Here is a picture of the new facility.
A New Chapter: Livestock Processing Center
Earlier this year, IGFC experienced a staffing turnover, which coincided with the completion of their new **Livestock Processing Center (LPC)**. This on-site facility allows for humane slaughter, eliminating the need for mobile units and reducing logistical challenges for the cooperative. Not only does this free up staff from needing a Commercial Driver’s License to operate the mobile unit, but it also provides farmers like us with a more efficient option. Here is a picture of the Livestock Processing Center under construction. You can see it was an addition onto the side of the new plant.
When we trailer our animals to the LPC, the pigs are loaded calmly the night before, sleep peacefully in a straw-lined trailer, and then take a 45-minute drive to the state-of-the-art, Animal Welfare Approved facility. Designed with input from humane handling experts like the University of Colorado and Temple Grandin, this facility ensures that our animals are handled with the utmost care and respect.
Benefits of the Livestock Processing Center
The LPC offers numerous advantages to farms like ours. Previously, one of our team members would spend a grueling 12-hour day managing on-farm slaughter, including handling the large amounts of wastewater, skin, offal, and viscera. Now, with the LPC, we simply transport the pigs to IGFC, saving time and resources while knowing our animals are being treated humanely.
The coop was founded by farmers from the San Juan Islands, and their mobile unit continues to play a vital role for those island farms, which face additional challenges when trailering animals to the mainland. Once the mobile unit is operational again, the hope is that island farmers will continue to receive prioritized service.
Shop Local with IGFC
One of the best things for local meat lovers to know is that IGFC has a **retail shop** right at their Port of Skagit facility. They offer a wide range of sustainably produced meats from over 100 local family farms across a four-county area. You can easily find pork, lamb, beef, and goat, all raised right here in the Northwest. Their products are sold under the brand **Northwest Local Meats**, making IGFC a great resource for supporting local farmers and sustainable agriculture.
Whether you’re interested in learning more about local farms or are looking to stock up on delicious, responsibly raised meat, be sure to check out their retail shop. Here is a photo of the new retail space and a link to their website for more information.
Supporting IGFC means supporting the future of sustainable, local meat production in our region!
Click here to learn more on the NW Local Meats website.
And reach out any time with more questions about Alluvial Farms and our products.