This page provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about selling meat products from the farm. If you’re looking for information about loans, grants, or other assistance for Minnesota farmers contact the Agricultural Marketing and Development Division at 651-201-6500. You can also view all funding offered through the MDA online. If you are looking for a processor to work with, explore the links below based on your processing needs.
- Custom Exempt - Find a meat plant to process your livestock animals for your own personal/household use (i.e., not for sale), or to process animals that have already been sold to individual customers (e.g., half hog, beef quarters).
- Minnesota State "Equal To" - Find a meat plant to process your livestock animals under continuous inspection, allowing you to sell meat from your farm to customers within the state. This might include selling products to grocery stores, restaurants, individuals at a farmers’ market, and other retail locations.
- USDA - Find a meat plant to process your livestock animals under continuous inspection for sales within Minnesota and across state lines.
- Not sure what type of processor you need? Read more about meat processing in Minnesota at Starting a Meat and Poultry Processing Business or give us a call at 651-201-6300.
Frequently Asked Questions
A farmer selling meat from their own livestock animals, with no added ingredients (that means no cure or spices), may do so without a food license or inspection, provided their livestock are processed under continuous inspection at a USDA or Minnesota “Equal To” facility. Referred to as “product of the farm” sales, this falls under Minnesota Food Licensing Exclusions and Exemptions. The processing plant will work with you to ensure your products are appropriately labeled.
If you plan to open a farm store or sell any products not produced on your farm (including products containing ingredients not produced on your farm), you may need a food handler license and approved facility. Contact the Food and Feed Safety Division Licensing Liaison or complete a Food Licensing Liaison Request form online.
Farmers may store their own packaged meat products from their farm in refrigerators or freezers that are in good condition, cleanable, and capable of keeping product frozen solid at 0°F or cold at 41°F (if fresh). Unless you are planning to acquire a food handler license to store and sell other products, you are not required to have a specific type of freezer or refrigeration unit. The following are additional resources on food safety for storing and freezing:
- This list of basic tips to follow for proper food storage (University of Minnesota Extension) is a good place to start.
- The USDA guide to refrigeration and food safety and freezing and food safety provide more information, including tables of storage times for different refrigerated and frozen meat and poultry products.
Yes. Keep in mind, products processed under continuous inspection at a Minnesota Equal To facility may only be shipped to locations within the state, while products processed under continuous inspection at a USDA facility may be shipped across state lines. Refer to the above question for additional information on storing the products on your farm prior to sales.
Red meat (beef, pork, goat, lamb, etc.) must be processed under continuous inspection by a USDA or Minnesota Equal To facility, and then you may sell those products without needing your own license if they are from your own farm, with no added ingredients. (Selling ingredient-added meat products at a farmers’ market requires a food license. Contact the Food and Feed Safety Division Licensing Liaison or complete a Food Licensing Liaison Request form online to learn more).
Any vehicles or containers used for transporting meat to the market should be cleanable and capable of keeping your product frozen solid at 0°F or cold at 41°F (if fresh). Make sure to talk to your farmers’ market manager about their vendor guidelines and expectations. Each market is operated differently, and you will want to know the rules they have around how products may be displayed and sold at that market. For more information on farmers’ markets, check out the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association or visit their Farmers' Market Academy.
Farm-raised deer, elk, bison, and some other domestically raised livestock species are considered “non-amenable” to inspection. This means at the federal level, inspection is voluntary, but to sell the meat from those animals in Minnesota, you must have them processed under inspection. Some USDA plants process non-amenable species, but the producer will need to pay for the inspection on top of processing fees. At the state level, inspection is covered for non-amenable species in Minnesota, but the options for processing large animals such as bison are more limited. Contact processing plants in your area and find out whether they have the capacity to process your animals.
