Who inspects your beef decides where you can sell it. Every state uses the same federal floor, but 31 of them run their own inspection program on top, only some of those let state-inspected beef cross state lines, and schools in some states will take nothing but USDA inspection. This page lays the rules out for the cattle states where ranchers are asking about pods first, and it grows as more states come in.
The short answer
- USDA-inspected beef sells in every state, across state lines, online, and into school meals anywhere.
- State-inspected beef sells anywhere inside its own state and stays there, unless the plant is one of the selected few in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program.
- Thirty-one states run their own program. Nebraska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, and New York do not, so USDA is the only path there.
- Custom-exempt beef is for the animal's owner only, in every state. It cannot be sold by the cut.
The difference between the four kinds of processing is laid out in custom exempt vs USDA inspected.
The rules, state by state
Agencies reorganize and rules change, so confirm with the agency in the last column before you plan a plant or a sale. Where the school column says “as the state agency and district allow,” state inspection meets the federal school rule, but your state child nutrition agency or your district can still require USDA inspection.
| State | Own inspection program | State-inspected beef across state lines | School meals | Who to call |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | No. USDA inspection only | USDA-inspected beef sells anywhere | USDA-inspected beef. Healthy School Meals for All funds local food purchases from the 2026 to 2027 school year | USDA FSIS district office; Colorado Department of Education for school meals |
| Florida | No. USDA inspection only | USDA-inspected beef sells anywhere | USDA-inspected beef | USDA FSIS district office; Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which runs school nutrition |
| Georgia | Yes, Georgia Department of Agriculture | Yes for selected plants: Georgia joined Cooperative Interstate Shipment in July 2026 | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow | Georgia Department of Agriculture; Georgia Department of Education |
| Idaho | No. USDA inspection only | USDA-inspected beef sells anywhere | USDA-inspected beef | USDA FSIS district office; Idaho State Department of Education |
| Illinois | Yes, Illinois Department of Agriculture | No. State-inspected beef stays in Illinois | The statewide school ground beef program requires Illinois cattle processed at a USDA-inspected Illinois plant | Illinois Department of Agriculture; Illinois State Board of Education |
| Kansas | Yes, Kansas Department of Agriculture | No. State-inspected beef stays in Kansas | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow | Kansas Department of Agriculture; Kansas State Department of Education |
| Minnesota | Yes, Minnesota Department of Agriculture | No. State-inspected beef stays in Minnesota | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow. State farm to school grants reimburse Minnesota-raised purchases | Minnesota Department of Agriculture; Minnesota Department of Education |
| Nebraska | No. The state program ended in 1971 | USDA-inspected beef sells anywhere | Federally inspected beef only, donated or purchased (Department of Education) | USDA FSIS district office; Nebraska Department of Education |
| New Mexico | Yes, New Mexico Livestock Board. Approved by USDA in September 2026 | No. State-inspected beef stays in New Mexico | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow. NM Grown grants fund local purchases | New Mexico Livestock Board; New Mexico Public Education Department |
| New York | No. USDA inspection only | USDA-inspected beef sells anywhere | USDA-inspected beef. The 30 percent initiative pays districts more per lunch for New York food, beef included | USDA FSIS district office; New York State Education Department and Department of Agriculture and Markets |
| Oklahoma | Yes, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry | No. State-inspected beef stays in Oklahoma | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow. A state-funded program helps schools buy local meat | Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; Oklahoma State Department of Education |
| South Carolina | Yes, run through Clemson University Livestock-Poultry Health | No. State-inspected beef stays in South Carolina | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow | Clemson Livestock-Poultry Health; South Carolina Department of Education |
| South Dakota | Yes, South Dakota Animal Industry Board | Yes for selected plants in Cooperative Interstate Shipment | State-inspected beef can serve schools inside the state; some districts require USDA | South Dakota Animal Industry Board; South Dakota Department of Education |
| Texas | Yes, Texas Department of State Health Services, Meat Safety Assurance | No. State-inspected beef stays in Texas | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow | Texas DSHS Meat Safety Assurance; Texas Department of Agriculture, which runs school meals |
| Wyoming | Yes, Wyoming Department of Agriculture | No. State-inspected beef stays in Wyoming | State or USDA-inspected beef, as the state agency and district allow | Wyoming Department of Agriculture; Wyoming Department of Education |
Not listed? The rule of thumb still holds: find out whether your state runs its own program, and whether it is one of the 11 in Cooperative Interstate Shipment. The FSIS state inspection page lists both.
Crossing state lines: Cooperative Interstate Shipment
State-inspected meat normally stops at the state line. The Cooperative Interstate Shipment program lets a state-inspected plant with 25 or fewer employees ship under the federal mark, if its state has joined and the plant is selected. Eleven states are in it: Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Georgia joined in July 2026. A pod runs on a crew of 4 to 10, well under the employee cap, but the state still has to be in the program and the plant still has to be selected.
What is changing in 2026
More states are coming in. Nevada became the 30th state with its own program in late 2025, and New Mexico the 31st in September 2026. On September 16, 2026, USDA announced the Stand-Up Program, with up to $50 million to help states start or expand their own inspection, and it noted that most states with a program are still outside Cooperative Interstate Shipment. Both lists on this page will change, and we will update them.
State or USDA for a new plant
Choose by where your beef will sell, not by which inspector is easier to reach. A ranch brand that wants online orders, buyers across a state line, or school and institutional business in more than one state needs USDA inspection. A plant that will only ever sell inside a state with its own program can work under state inspection, and some state programs give new plants more hands-on help through the first season. In Nebraska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, and New York the choice is made for you: USDA.
Either way, the plant has to meet the same standards before it gets a grant of inspection: a written HACCP plan, sanitation procedures, potable water, an approved wastewater path, and approved labels. A Meat Pod plant is built to that standard and includes the inspector's office, so the work left is your site and your paperwork. The site side is covered in wastewater and site prep for a small meat plant, and what inspection means for school sales is in farm to school beef.
Put your name on your state's list
Questions producers ask
Which states have their own meat inspection program?+
Thirty-one as of September 2026, after New Mexico was approved. Among the cattle states covered here, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, and New Mexico run their own programs. Nebraska, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, and New York do not, so every plant that sells meat there works under USDA inspection.
Can state-inspected beef be sold in another state?+
Only through the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program, which covers selected state-inspected plants with 25 or fewer employees in the 11 states that have joined: Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Everywhere else, state-inspected beef stays in the state. USDA-inspected beef can be sold in every state.
Should a new plant choose state or USDA inspection?+
For most ranchers building a brand, USDA. It is the only mark that sells in every state, ships online across state lines, and qualifies for school meals everywhere. State inspection can make sense for a plant that will only ever sell in its own state, in a state with a program, and some states offer more hands-on help to new plants. In states with no program, USDA is the only choice.
Is my state about to start an inspection program?+
Possibly. USDA announced the Stand-Up Program on September 16, 2026, with up to $50 million to help states start or expand their own inspection programs, and New Mexico joined two days later. Ask your state department of agriculture whether it plans to apply.
Sources
- FSIS, State Inspection Programs
- FSIS, Cooperative Interstate Shipment establishments
- USDA, Georgia joins the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program (July 27, 2026)
- FSIS, USDA launches initiative to bring more states into meat inspection (September 16, 2026)
- USDA, New Mexico welcomed into State Meat and Poultry Inspection Program (September 18, 2026)
- Food Safety News, Nevada is the 30th state permitted to inspect small producers' meat (December 2025)
- Texas DSHS, Meat Safety Assurance: inspections and exemptions
- Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska Beef in Schools fact sheet
- University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, state meat inspection in Nebraska
- Illinois State Board of Education, Local ground beef annual order form, SY 2026-27
- New Mexico Livestock Board, Meat and Poultry Inspection
Informational only. Regulations change and states differ; confirm with FSIS or your state program before you act. Nothing here is legal advice or a financial performance representation.