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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: October 17, 2023 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-d <br /> SUBJECT: Approval of the Proposed Memorandum of Understanding between Orange and <br /> Durham Counties for the Storage and Implementation of the Mobile Poultry <br /> Processing Unit <br /> DEPARTMENT: Cooperative Extension <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Durham & Orange County Mobile Jonathon Smith, County Extension <br /> Processing Unit Program Director, 919-245-2057 <br /> Memorandum of Understanding <br /> 2. Mobile Processing Unit Program <br /> User Agreement <br /> PURPOSE: To approve of the Memorandum of Understanding between Orange and Durham <br /> Counties for the storage and implementation of a Mobile Poultry Processing Unit. <br /> BACKGROUND: There currently are no small poultry processing operators in North Carolina to <br /> process poultry raised on-farm. The only facility in the state closed in 2017, and the US <br /> Department of Agriculture allowed for a special exemption to allow meat processors in North <br /> Carolina to process poultry. This special exemption ended in December 2022, leaving small farms <br /> with the burden of purchasing thousands of dollars of equipment to process their flock on farm. <br /> A solution employed by other NC counties is the rental of a mobile processing unit (MPU) for <br /> processing a small flock of poultry. These units allow for the processing of poultry to be much <br /> quicker, cleaner, and safer for the small farm owner or operator. Additionally, it can help new and <br /> beginning farmers to enter a market that would otherwise require a high amount of capital <br /> expenditure. There have been no MPUs within Durham or Orange counties for rent, and the <br /> nearest ones are not available to Durham and Orange producers due to location and/or high <br /> demand. <br /> Durham County Cooperative Extension purchased an MPU and a trailer to house the MPU in <br /> 2022 from funds earned from the implementation of NC Farm School with other County Extension <br /> partners, including Orange County Cooperative Extension. The MPU will allow current farmers <br /> of pasture raised birds, as well as new and beginning farmers interested in starting a small poultry <br /> farm, options for processing their birds on-farm. This also supports the resiliency of the food <br /> system by creating another avenue for locally grown food in Durham and Orange counties. The <br /> users of the MPU will be required to participate in training delivered by Extension personnel prior <br /> to renting the MPU and as well as sign a user agreement (See Attachment 2). <br />