The following outline of questions and considerations in new plant design are provided by Koch Supplies, Inc., of Kansas City, MO, and is reprinted with their permission. It is offered here to assist you in decision making about building a new facility and/or use of existing facilities or enterprises.
Processing Facility Plan
Land/Water/Energy/Waste Treatment
1. Do you own the land on which you plan to build this facility?
____Yes ____No
a. Is there adequate water supply available?
____Yes ____No
1. Wells
2. City water
3. Other (please specify) ______________________________________
b. Is the water a good quality, not requiring pre-treatment?
____Yes ____No
c. Are there existing wastewater treatment facilities available?
____Yes ____No
d. What are the local requirements for waste water treatment?
___________________________________________________________
2. Do you have a plot plan and topography drawings available?
____Yes ____No
3. Is the land accessible by good roads?
____Yes ____No
4. Is the land near to a railroad line?
____Yes ____No
5. Will you have to do extensive clearing of the land or move large amounts of dirt to make it useable?
____Yes ____No
6. Is there electrical power available and is it a reliable source of power?
____Yes ____No
7. Is natural gas available?
____Yes ____No
8. If it is necessary, do you have a good source for propane gas and/or diesel fuel?
____Yes ____No
9. What source of power would you prefer to use for your plant?
____ Electricity
____ Natural gas
____ Diesel fuel
____ Propane
Livestock Handling: (Cattle, Hogs, Sheep)
1. How will the animals be delivered to the plant?
By truck (what size truck [average count per delivery])? ________________
By rail car (average count per delivery)? ____________________________
2. Will deliveries of livestock be made daily for kill that day? If not, how long do you anticipate from arrival of animals to killing?
___________________________________________________________
3. Are you in an area where seasons of the year impact the way animals are delivered (for instance, in summer delivery is made during the cool of the evening)?
____Yes ____No
4. Should the pens be covered with water sprinklers for cooling the animals?
____Yes ____No
5. Should the pens be entirely enclosed for adverse cold and the possibilities of long delays from animal arrival until killing?
____Yes ____No
6. How are the animals to be weighed when they arrive at the plant (individually, on truck scales or gang livestock scales)?
____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
7. Do you expect to need to feed the animals in the pens (this generally is not done unless the stay is more than a day)?
____Yes ____No
8. Do you expect to clean the pens daily? If so, how will this be done?
If not, then how often and by what equipment?
____Yes ____No
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Important Consideration: If you are planning to handle more than one type of animal, you will need to understand the importance of more than one holding pen area. Cattle, hogs and sheep are kept in different styles of pens and are normally separated.
Production Plans for Slaughter/Offal/Rendering:
1. What is the average labor rate for the workers per hour?
*The answer to this determines the amount of equipment versus the amount of manual labor that should be planned.
____________________________________________________________
2. How many slaughtered per day?
|
First Year |
Third Year |
Fifth Year |
|
Type |
Quantity |
Type |
Quantity |
Type |
Quantity |
| Cattle |
|
Cattle |
|
Cattle |
|
| Hogs |
|
Hogs |
|
Hogs |
|
| Sheep |
|
Sheep |
|
Sheep |
|
3. Are there any religious methods and restrictions that must be followed?
____Yes ____No
4. What are the weight limits of the live animals?
| Type |
Weight Limit |
Type |
Weight Limit |
| Cattle |
|
Cattle |
|
| Hogs |
|
Hogs |
|
| Sheep |
|
Sheep |
|
5. Hogs: Which method of hog slaughtering is desired?
_____Hog scalding/dehairing
_____Hog skinning
6. What do you want to do with the blood?
_____Dry it for fertilizer.
_____Collect it in tanks for selling as inedible.
_____Send it to the rendering system for animal feed (mixed with offal).
_____Save it for edible consumption.
_____Dispose of it the most convenient way.
7. Cattle: What are the plans for the hides when removed?
_____Sell them untreated and green.
_____Salt cure them and ship daily/weekly/monthly.
_____Do advanced work on them beyond the salt curing stage.
NOTE: If sheep and hogs are to be considered in the project, similar considerations should be given to handling of the pelts/skins.
8. Will the heads be split and the brains saved?
____Yes ____No
9. Will the drop items be saved (feet, tails, casings, tripe, livers, lungs, hearts, chitterlings, stomachs, snouts, ears, jowls, etc.)?
10. Will the drop items that are saved be sold fresh or frozen?
____Fresh ____Frozen
11. How will the drop items be shipped (cardboard boxes, returnable plastic containers, bulk containers)? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________
12. Will plastic bags be used with drop items?
____Yes ____No
13. Will heads be sold whole; or will the head meat, cheek meat, lips and tongues be removed and skulls sent to rendering?
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
14. Is a rendering plant to be considered in the project or will the rendering be shipped to another location for handling?
____Yes ____No
15. If rendering is planned:
a. How will the finished inedible fat be handled (barrels or bulk)?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
b. How will the crax (animal feed) be handled (bag or bulk)?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
c. Is edible rendering desired?
____Yes ____No
16. What percentage of the carcasses will be chilled?
______________________ %
17. What percentage of carcasses will be shipped in carcass form?
___________ %
18. Will a laundry be provided for cleaning of clothing after each day?
____Yes ____No
19. Will a lunch room be provided for the workers?
____Yes ____No
Is a kitchen to be considered?
____Yes ____No
20. What percentage of the work force will be women?
_____________________ %
Processing/Further Processing/Smoked Meats:
1. What percent of the carcasses will be boned-out for fresh cuts?
__________ %
2. What meat cuts will be produced in the boning rooms?
___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3. Will hamburger be produced?
____Yes ____No
If so, will hamburger patties be formed?
____Yes ____No
4. If hamburgers will be made into patties, what poundage will be considered? __
How will they be shipped?
____Fresh in a cardboard box
____Fresh in bulk form with paper dividers
____Frozen in cardboard boxes
____Frozen in bulk form
5. If bulk hamburger is produced, what is the poundage?
____________________
How will it be shipped?
_________________________________________
6. Will any beef be used in sausage making?
____Yes ____No
If so, what poundage? ________________________________________
7. Will retail counter space be a part of this project?
____Yes ____No
8. If retail is planned, what cuts will be displayed?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
9. Will walk-in sales be encouraged at this plant? (In other words, will the public be encouraged to come by and purchase meat directly from this plant even though a retail counter may not be planned?)
____Yes ____No
10. Will the meat cuts be shipped fresh or frozen?
____Fresh ____Frozen ____Both ways
If shipped both ways, then what are the percentages of each?
Fresh ___________% Frozen ___________%
11. Will any pork be used for sausage items?
____Yes ____No
If so, how many pounds per day?
_____________________________________
12. What types and quantities of sausage will be produced?
-
|
Type |
Kg/Lbs
per day |
Kg/Lbs
per week |
|
Linked Bratwurst |
|
|
|
Polish Sausage |
|
|
|
Hot dogs |
|
|
|
Grilled Sausage |
|
|
|
Luncheon Sausage |
|
|
|
Mortadella |
|
|
|
Beerwurst |
|
|
|
Bologna |
|
|
|
Loaves |
|
|
|
Cooked Salami |
|
|
|
Salami |
|
|
|
Dried Salami (natural and slow fermented) |
|
|
|
Salami (fast fermented) |
|
|
|
Beef Jerky |
|
|
|
Beef Sticks (snack food) |
|
|
|
Other (specify) |
|
|
b. What type of casing will be used in sausage production?
____Natural
____Collagen
____Cellulose
____Fibrous
____Plastic
13. Will hams be smoked and cured?
____Yes ____No
If so, what percentage of total hams per day will be used for this?
|
Type |
Kg/Lbs
per day |
Kg/Lbs
per week |
| Boiled ham/water cooked |
|
|
| Boneless ham/smoked |
|
|
| Whole bone in ham/smoked |
|
|
14. Will hams be sold whole or sliced, boned or boneless?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
b. Any other types of injected products, such as:
|
Type |
Kg/Lbs
per day |
Kg/Lbs
per week |
| Whole roast beef |
|
|
| Sectioned/formed roast beef |
|
|
| Smoked beef |
|
|
| Pastrami |
|
|
15. Will bacon be smoked and cured?
____Yes ____No
If so, what percentage of total fresh bacon per day will be used for this?
__________________________________________________________ %
16. Will bacon be sold in slab form or sliced?
____Slab ____Sliced ____Both ways
If both, what percentages of each?
Slab ___________% Sliced ___________%
17. How is the bacon going to be packaged?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
18. How much of the production will require vacuum packaging?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
a. What products?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
b. What percentage of each product?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
19. How much lead time do the suppliers of packaging in your area need?
___________________________________________________________
This determines:
a. Order quantities for supplies.
b. Necessary space for supplies to operate.
20. How much cooler/freezer space should be considered for the finished product, in terms of days-of-production? (Normally meat is stored in the cooler for three days and in the freezer for seven days.)
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Important Consideration: It is good advice to allow for an area near the processing room that carries some spare parts, can be used to store cleaning equipment, store forklifts during the night charging time and can provide for the necessary maintenance work.
Resources:
Reprinted with permission.
Written by Jim Masterson, Koch Supplies, Inc., 1411 West 29th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108; (816) 753-2150; fax (816) 753-4976. E-mail: Koch@Kochsupplies.Com; Internet:HTTP://KOCHSUPPLIES.COM