(Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)A retail store is also on-site where customers can buy beef, pork, lamb and other meats offered by the ranches. But other grower-owned processors and retailers that allow ranchers to cut out the middleman in Colorado are few and far between. Colorado is home to 13,000 beef cattle producers and 206 feedlots, all of which are served by 24 USDA certified slaughter plants, according to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. (Hugh Carey, The Colorado Sun)LeValley is among meat producers who are largely backing a Congressional bid to allow small and midsize meat processing facilities to expand their operations. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, along with other agriculture groups, has fought against claims that beef producers are a detriment to the environment, noting that beef producers in the United States are already the global leader in sustainable beef production.

Source: Daily Sun December 25, 2023 15:19 UTC