Lack of processing plants sendsNorth Coast ranchers and theircattle, hogs and chickens on the road

Gleason Ranch, outside the hamlet of Bodega, sells its meats and poultry direct to Sonoma County consumers.

But to kill and process its animals, the Gleason family must transport chickens to Stockton, hogs to Modesto and rabbits to Turlock.

Mac Magruder and family members take beef from their Potter Valley ranch two hours south to Petaluma for processing and their hogs three hours east over the mountains to Orland.

Kerry and Rex Williams of Sebastopol use a one-ton pickup and trailer to haul their lambs 90 minutes away to Dixon. News of those trips caused local community leaders on a recent ranch tour to pointedly ask about the Williams' carbon footprint.

The city folk were "horrified" at all the trucking involved to prepare local meats for sale, said Kerry Williams. But the region has few processing plants, and "the reality is I can't put 20 sheep in my Prius."

Niche meat production has become a small but growing part of ranching on the North Coast and around the nation. Supporters say the change could significantly increase ranch income and could help keep more of the region's open space in agriculture.

But as more ranchers get involved in selling meat to consumers or restaurants, they must contend with a diminished number of processing plants, most of which weren't built to cater to direct sales.

"It's certainly the Achilles' heel of the whole movement," said Magruder, who sells grass-fed beef and pastured pork to consumers and restaurants. Nonetheless, he remains optimistic that "when the consumer demands local meat, then it's going to change."

Already some processing plants have adapted to serve the niche ranchers, providing special packaging and labels or cutting meat in more finished ways for consumers.

A Lake County couple found a solution by building their own processing facility at their chicken ranch south of Lakeport.

And ranchers are hoping further study will show the viability of a multi-species processing plant in Mendocino County.

Such a plant could significantly boost the county's economy, but it would require one or more investors willing to make a multi-million dollar commitment. A big question is whether enough ranchers would use it.

Local-food enthusiasts are encouraging consumers to purchase more products from within their region's "foodshed," an area akin to a watershed and the place where a food is grown and processed.

An apple grower can pick his crop and take it directly to a farmer's market. But a rancher can't sell consumers his beef, lamb or pork unless the animal first is killed and the meat processed and wrapped at USDA-approved facilities. Processed chicken also must be inspected, though small plants can be overseen by state rather than federal inspectors.

Sonoma County has one kill and processing plant for beef, Rancho Veal Corp. in Petaluma, and a small plant for sheep and goats, Panizzera Meat Co. near Occidental. Ranchers say it's not enough.

"What really is missing for the greater Bay Area foodshed is a local processing facility that caters to the local, smaller-scale producers," said Ben Provan, Magruder's son-in-law.

In 1959, Sonoma County produced 60,000 head of cattle and calves, and 126,000 sheep and lambs. A half-century later, the numbers had fallen to 27,000 cattle and fewer than 21,000 sheep. The money paid to county ranchers for all meat and poultry in 2009 was $52 million, two-fifths of what it was in 1959, when adjusted for inflation.

Many ranchers here run relatively small operations, in keeping with a nation where half of all cattle ranchers care for fewer than 50 head. And niche meats account for less than 5 percent of the total market in the U.S., according to Lauren Gwin, a research associate at Oregon State University and the co-coordinator of the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Group.

But the ranks of niche ranchers are growing. "And they would grow more if they had a local processing facility," said John Harper, a UC Cooperative Extension farm adviser in Ukiah and a key participant in the study of a possible Mendocino County plant.

The facility might not only kill and process different types of farm animals, but also might have its own brand and distribute the meat on behalf of ranchers.

An early study estimated the cost for a plant at upwards of $18 million, he said. But supporters hope a smaller version can be built for a fraction of the cost.

Even so, Harper said, it has to "pencil out." And many are quick to point out potential obstacles.

One is that niche ranching often produces a seasonal product, but a processing plant and its employees need animals year round.

"To justify that kind of capital expenditure and to keep all those people going, you need to have a significant amount of volume," said Arion Thiboumery, vice president of Lorentz Meats, in Cannon Falls, Minn. and, with Gwin, a co-coordinator of the niche meat processors group.