By Anne Fanatico
NCAT Agriculture Specialist
A growing number of small producers are raising poultry outdoors on pasture, processing the birds
on-farm, and selling the meat directly to customers at the farm or at a farmers’ market. Many states
allow up to 1,000 birds to be processed on a farm each year and sold directly to consumers with no
inspection. Some of these small producers are going further—building government-licensed processing plants to supply regional or niche markets. Specialty “religious kill” is often done in small plants. “Kosher” is the term for Jewish slaughter and “halaal” for Muslim slaughter.