What the rules say, what it costs, and how to get there.
Written for producers, not lawyers. Every guide is sourced to the regulation or the agency, dated, and ends on one thing you can do today.
- Texas7 min read
Texas: putting an inspected meat plant near your cattle
Texas state inspection or USDA, who buys inspected local beef in Texas, the site and wastewater rules, how Texas plants get financed, and where a Meat Pod fits in the biggest cattle state.
Published October 17, 2026Read the guide - Inspection9 min read
Meat inspection rules, state by state
All 50 states on one map: which run their own meat inspection, which let state-inspected beef cross state lines, what schools accept, and who to call. Free to download as a spreadsheet.
Published October 17, 2026 · Updated October 26, 2026Read the guide - Schools12 min read
Farm to school beef: getting local cattle onto the lunch tray
The inspection rule that decides which beef a school can serve in your state, how districts buy local, the federal and state money behind it in 2026, what a school actually orders, and where an inspected plant near the cattle changes the answer.
Published October 17, 2026Read the guide - Cost9 min read
What a small USDA meat plant costs in 2026
Brick and mortar, mobile unit, or modular pod: what each costs to build, permit, staff, and inspect, what grants cover, and how to run the numbers for your own head count.
Published October 13, 2026Read the guide - Site7 min read
Wastewater and site prep for a small meat plant
The four ways small plants handle process water, what the slab and utilities really involve, and the five answers to have before you call the state, whichever plant you put on the ground.
Published October 1, 2026Read the guide - Compare9 min read
Modular pod vs mobile slaughter unit vs brick and mortar
Three ways to put an inspected slaughterhouse near the cattle, compared on capacity, inspection, time to first harvest, financing, staffing, and what still has to be built around each one.
Published October 1, 2026Read the guide - Herd rebuilding8 min read
Heifer retention math: rebuilding a herd at a 75-year low
The herd is the smallest since 1951 because keeping a heifer costs two years of cash. What retention really costs, what Ranchers First changes, and how selling beef instead of cattle lets a ranch keep more heifers home.
Published September 12, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026Read the guide - Funding8 min read
MPPEP and the $500M SPUR program: how to apply
What SPUR pays and to whom, what MPPEP Phase 4 funded and required, why a plant that has not opened yet cannot claim either one today, and how to spend the first year so the next round is yours.
Published September 11, 2026Read the guide - Inspection9 min read
Custom exempt vs USDA inspected: what you are allowed to sell
The four kinds of meat inspection, what each lets you sell and to whom, and the one move that takes a ranch from "not for sale" to a labeled package on a shelf.
Published September 6, 2026 · Updated October 17, 2026Read the guide