Small Meat Processors Working Group: Managing knowledge in a new era of agriculture

Interest has grown considerably during recent years around what Lyson\u27s (2004) calls civic agriculture, the localization of food production with the conscious goal of contributing to local sustainable development. A central challenge facing the growth civic agriculture has been methodological; what techniques can be used to support collective action towards this new era of agriculture? In this dissertation, I examine knowledge management using a community of practice as one method that shows particular promise. I detail the operations of the Small Meat Processors Working Group, a community of practice among technical assistance providers, regulators, and meat locker operators which focuses on holistic knowledge management in order to solve real world problems. The community of practices shares knowledge in ways that bureaucratic structures cannot manage, as theorized by Habermas\u27 (1987) communicative rationality. The Small Meat Processors Working Group (SMPWG) is one of five working groups in Value Chain Partnerships, a contemporary, multi-organization, extension/outreach project in Iowa. In detailing the operations of the SMPWG, I analyze the process of creating three extension publications, which are included in the dissertation. The processes through which the publications were created and the materials themselves illustrate how tacit, contextual, and explicit knowledge can be holistically managed and collectively refined to solve concrete challenges, then cooperatively made available and put to practical use by wider audiences

From Convenience to Commitment: Securing the Long-Term Viability of Local Meat and Poultry Processing

Consumer demand for local food, including local meat and poultry, has risen in recent years. Meat and poultry processors are essential links in local meat supply chains. To sell meat, farmers need access to appropriately scaled processing facilities with the skills, inspection status, and other attributes to prepare these products safely, legally, and to customer specifications. Farmers and others suggest that limited processing infrastructure restricts the supply of local meat and poultry. At the same time, existing small processors often lack the steady, consistent business required for profitability. We analyze this multifaceted problem and identify fundamental causes, drawing on a cost analysis of local processing at three scales. We use case studies of seven successful local and regional processors to illustrate strategies and solutions that may be adopted by others. We conclude that business commitments between processors and farmers are critical to mutual success: farmers commit to providing consistent throughput of livestock to process, and processors commit to providing consistent, high-quality processing services. This commitment, supported by coordination and communication between processors and their customers as well as along the entire supply chain, is essential to the persistence and expansion of local meats. We also describe five collaborative efforts around the country involving public and private sector partners who aim to expand opportunities for local meat marketing by providing support and technical assistance to meat processors and their farmer customers.Keywords: poultry, local food supply, meat, meat and poultry processing, consumer deman

Small Meat Processors Working Group: Managing knowledge in a new era of agriculture

Interest has grown considerably during recent years around what Lyson's (2004) calls "civic agriculture," the localization of food production with the conscious goal of contributing to local sustainable development. A central challenge facing the growth civic agriculture has been methodological; what techniques can be used to support collective action towards this new era of agriculture? In this dissertation, I examine knowledge management using a "community of practice" as one method that shows particular promise. I detail the operations of the Small Meat Processors Working Group, a community of practice among technical assistance providers, regulators, and meat locker operators which focuses on holistic knowledge management in order to solve real world problems. The community of practices shares knowledge in ways that bureaucratic structures cannot manage, as theorized by Habermas' (1987) "communicative rationality." The Small Meat Processors Working Group (SMPWG) is one of five working groups in Value Chain Partnerships, a contemporary, multi-organization, extension/outreach project in Iowa. In detailing the operations of the SMPWG, I analyze the process of creating three extension publications, which are included in the dissertation. The processes through which the publications were created and the materials themselves illustrate how tacit, contextual, and explicit knowledge can be holistically managed and collectively refined to solve concrete challenges, then cooperatively made available and put to practical use by wider audiences.</p

Small meat lockers working group: a participatory action research project to revitalize the decentralized meatpacking sector in Iowa

Small meat lockers are critical pieces of Lyson's (2004) "civic agriculture." Unfortunately, in Iowa they have been declining for several decades. This thesis examines how civic engagement and our modern orientation towards bureaucratic structure have and do impact small meat lockers and how this impact can be negotiated by Habermas' (1987) "communicative rationality." The results come from a participatory action research working group composed of various stakeholders, attempting to revitalize small, decentralized meat processing in Iowa, specifically by negotiating bureaucracy. Lockers are found to need help in five areas: Business Planning & Feasibility, Financial Assistance, Plant Design, Plant Construction, and Labor. Business Planning & Feasibility and Financial Assistance resources are comprehensively examined. Labor is moderately examined. Plant Design and Plant Construction are preliminarily examined. Future research directions are provided for the latter three areas. This thesis concludes that communicative rationality has a particularly strong positive effect on rural development, because it encourages civic engagement by subjugating the bureaucratic drive for efficiency at the expense of civic communication. While progress can be made bureaucratically at the State level, small meat locker owner-operators should strive to work with local organizations that have power to provide assistance (financial or otherwise) based on human, civic understanding without overbearing bureaucracy. Yet, to do this they will have to hone their own capital accounting skills.</p

Beyond the Farmer and the Butcher: Institutional Entrepreneurship and Local Meat

Increased demand for local food has led to calls for additional supply-chain infrastructure to move products from farm to market. Meat and poultry are highly perishable, rigorously regulated products that require a complex chain, and processing is often said to be the weak link for local meats. Commitment from producers and meat buyers is essential to the persistence and expansion of processing capacity, but nonmarket actors can provide critical technical support and facilitate innovation that strengthens this sector. We present four collaborative efforts, three regional and one national, that focus on processing with the goal of expanding the local meat sector. These efforts harness the experience and expertise of a variety of partners, both public-sector and private, and provide information, guidance, and direct technical assistance. They also collaborate and cooperate with each other in a national peer-learning community, sharing and generating innovative knowledge, tools, and strategies. Tentative evidence of increased processing capacity, producer access to processing, and local meats marketing, while certainly not solely attributable to these efforts, suggests their value

Local Meat and Poultry Processing: The Importance of Business Commitments for Long-Term Viability

Consumer demand for local food, including local meat and poultry, has risen in recent years. To sell meat, farmers need access to appropriately scaled processing facilities with the skills, inspection status, and reliability to prepare these products safely, legally, and to customer specifications. Farmers and others suggest that limited processing infrastructure restricts the supply of local meat and poultry. At the same time, existing small processors often lack the steady, consistent business required for profitability. This report explores this multi-faceted problem and identifies fundamental causes, drawing on a cost analysis of local processing. Case studies of seven successful local and regional processors illustrate strategies or best practices currently in place: farmers commit to providing consistent throughput of livestock to process, and processors commit to providing consistent, high-quality processing services. This long-term commitment, supported by coordination and communication between processors and their customers as well as along the entire supply chain, is essential to the persistence and expansion of local meats. Also, five public-private collaborations around the country demonstrate how to expand opportunities for local meat marketing by providing support and technical assistance to meat processors and their farmer customers

Making Value Chains Work: Best Practices for Success – Workshop Proceedings

Proceedings of a workshop hosted by Value Chain Partnerships and the Leopold Center about how to use communities of practice to address current issues.</p