Mary Grace Winfrey, Research Fellow
Elizabeth Rumley, Senior Staff Attorney
This article reflects legislative developments as of October 15, 2026.
While many recent federal actions concerning slaughter and processing have focused on executive orders and administrative policy, Congress is also considering changes to the system of how livestock and poultry are prepared for consumption in the United States. Proposals introduced during the 119th Congress address a range of issues, including federal inspection exemptions, state meat and poultry inspection programs, interstate market access, processing capacity, and alternative inspection systems. This article provides an overview of these proposals and the approaches they take to livestock and poultry slaughter and processing.
Current Law
For background on the legal framework governing livestock and poultry slaughter and processing, see the National Agricultural Law Center’s Food Foundations: Livestock & Poultry Slaughter and Processing.
Expanding Inspection Exemptions
Federal law generally requires livestock and poultry products to be inspected before they enter commerce. The Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) carve out varying exemptions from that requirement, including slaughter by a business on behalf of an animal’s owner (custom exemption) and slaughter by an animal’s owner completely on their own (personal use exemption). Meat produced under either of these exemptions cannot be sold, although there are some exceptions to that rule for small poultry producers. The proposals discussed in this section would expand these exemptions in various ways.
- PRIME Act
The Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act (PRIME Act) (H.R. 4700 and S. 2409) would expand the federal livestock custom slaughter exemption so that meat from custom slaughter facilities could be sold within the state where the facility is located. The PRIME Act amends only the FMIA, so it applies to livestock, not poultry.
Under current law, a custom exempt facility may slaughter and process an animal for its owner without continuous inspection, but the products may be used only “exclusively for use in the household of such owner, by him and members of his household and his nonpaying guests and employees.” The products may not be sold or donated, and they must be marked “Not for Sale.”
The PRIME Act would modify this. If the facility complies with the laws of the state where it is located, the meat could be sold – within the state – to household consumers as well as restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, and other businesses that either prepare meals for consumers or sell meat directly to them.
However, states would have the final say on this. The bill also would not preempt state laws concerning custom slaughter facilities or the sale of meat products. In other words, a state could add its own conditions or decline to allow these sales entirely.
Both versions of the PRIME Act remain pending in committee. H.R. 4700 was introduced in the House on July 23, 2025, and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture; the Senate companion, S. 2409, was introduced on the same day and was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The PRIME Act is not included in either chamber’s Farm Bill, though Section 12114 of the House Farm Bill (discussed below) contains a narrower pilot version of the concept.
- LOCAL Foods Act
The Livestock Owned by Communities to Advance Local Foods Act (LOCAL Foods Act) (S. 1212 and H.R. 5341) would expand the personal use exemption. Like the PRIME Act, the LOCAL Foods Act would amend only the FMIA and therefore would apply only to livestock and not poultry.
The personal use exemption currently covers a person who slaughters “animals of his own raising” and prepares the meat for use by that person’s household, nonpaying guests, and employees. It is separate from the custom exemption. The personal use exemption applies to an owner’s own slaughter and processing, while the custom exemption applies to businesses that slaughter and process animals for their owners. The LOCAL Foods Act would make two changes to this.
First, the LOCAL Act would replace the phrase “animals of his own raising” with “an owner of the animals in whole or in part.” Second, it would explicitly allow a consumer/owner to designate an agent to assist in slaughtering and processing the meat. For a more detailed breakdown, see the National Agricultural Law Center’s post analyzing a previous version of the proposal.
The LOCAL Foods Act is a standalone bill and is not included in the House or Senate Farm Bill. The Senate version, S. 1212, was introduced on March 31, 2025, and referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The House companion, H.R. 5341, was introduced on September 11, 2025, and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, which referred it on to the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry subcommittee. Neither version has advanced beyond committee.
- Red Meat Inspection Exemption Act
Representatives Thomas Massie and Chellie Pingree introduced “The Red Meat Inspection Exemption Act”, or H.R. 10744. It was introduced on October 5, 2026 and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. It does not have a Senate companion and is not included in either Farm Bill. According to the press release released by Representative Massie, it creates a “federal meat-inspection exemption for small livestock producers who slaughter and process animals raised on their own farms for direct distribution to consumers.”
According to the press release, “[p]roducers seeking an inspection exemption may slaughter no more than 25 cattle, 60 swine, 250 sheep, or 250 goats annually.” While that language does appear in the bill, it also specifies that the exemption does not apply to producers who slaughter over 200 cattle, 500 swine, 2,000 sheet or 2,000 goats. There is no further indication of the differentiation between the two levels, or of what happens to farms with levels in between.
According to the bill, after the producer slaughters and processes the meat themselves, either the producer or an agent the producer designates could sell the meat directly to consumers on the farm, at farm stands, at farmers markets, or other direct to consumer locations. A potential inconsistency, however, is that the exemption levels of 25 cattle/60 swine/250 sheep/250 goats also prohibit the producer from moving “any meat or meat food products produced from livestock raised on the producer’s own farm or farms in commerce.”
The legislation requires that meat processed under this exemption be labeled “Exempt—21 U.S.C. 623,” must include the name and address of the producer, and remain subject to federal adulteration and misbranding standards.
We hope to update this post with more information on this specific proposal in the coming weeks. Please feel free to check back for more information.
- Farm Bill Custom Slaughter Pilot Program
Section 12114 of H.R. 7567 – the House-passed Farm Bill – would create a temporary pilot program allowing meat from custom exempt facilities to be sold directly to consumers within the state. The pilot would be a narrower expansion of the custom exemption than the PRIME Act. The sale would have to be made directly to an in-state consumer by either the owner of the animal or by the custom exempt facility where the animal was processed. Because sales would be limited to consumers, the program would not allow sales to restaurants, grocery stores, or other non-consumers.
For initial approval, each state choosing to run the pilot may approve up to five participating facilities within that state. Across the pool of all remaining states, USDA may approve an additional ten facilities. After two years, if food safety requirements have been maintained, additional facilities could be approved.
Participating facilities would be subject to sanitation, recordkeeping, humane slaughter, and labeling requirements. Products would have to be labeled as not federally inspected and not for resale. Facilities would be subject to onsite USDA inspections and to annual state or local inspections. USDA would retain emergency authority to act on credible evidence of adulteration, and consequences could include a loss of participation in the program.
The pilot would end on September 30, 2031. The custom exemption itself would not expire, so participating facilities would go back to operating as ordinary custom exempt facilities. However, at that point, they could no longer sell products unless Congress renews or replaces the pilot.
The pilot program is not a standalone bill; it exists only as Section 12114 of the House-passed Farm Bill, H.R. 7567. Whether Section 12114 survives depends on how the House and Senate versions are eventually reconciled.
State Inspection
State meat and poultry inspection programs operate alongside the federal inspection system. Currently, products inspected under them can be sold within the state they were inspected (intrastate commerce) but cannot be sold across state lines (interstate commerce) unless the establishment participates in a qualifying federal program, such as the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program. The bills discussed in this section would change this framework in various ways.
- Strengthening Local Processing Act
The Strengthening Local Processing Act (S. 1509 and H.R. 3076) would amend both the FMIA and the PPIA to support smaller meat and poultry processing establishments and expand state participation in federal programs.
For small and very small establishments, the bill would reduce some compliance costs by directing USDA 1) to create a searchable database of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) validation studies; and 2) provide grants for food safety, capacity improvements, workforce development, and training. Further, it would increase the federal share of state inspection program costs from 50% to 65% and Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program costs from 60% to 80%, while expanding CIS eligibility from establishments with up to 25 employees to those with up to 50. The bill would not change the standards applicable to state-inspected facilities or alter inspection exemptions.
These bills were introduced on April 29, 2025, and referred to each respective chambers’ agricultural committee, where they remain today. However, related provisions appear in both Farm Bills, which include HACCP guidance for small and very small establishments and outreach to states regarding the CIS Program.
- DIRECT Act
The Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions Act of 2025 (DIRECT Act) (S. 3099) would allow state inspected meat and poultry products to be sold online in interstate commerce. Under the bill, retail-type establishments could sell products on the internet and ship them directly to household consumers in other areas of the United States. These products would have to be shipped in normal retail quantities (capped at 300 pounds for beef, 100 pounds for pork, and 27.5 pounds for lamb). However, state inspected products would not be eligible for sale outside of the United States.
The seller would have to qualify as retail type establishment, such as a retail store or restaurant. A state inspected processor that also runs a retail counter, or an independent butcher shop, could use the bill for retail sales, and the bill’s sponsors describe processors, butchers, and other retailers as the intended sellers. A farmer would not need to own a processing plant but would need to sell through a qualifying retail business. Meat processed under the custom exemption would not qualify because the bill only applies to state inspected products.
The buyer would have to be a household consumer. A restaurant or grocery store in another state could not order products under the DIRECT Act. Nothing in the bill allows the consumer to resell the products.
Under current law, state inspected meat and poultry may not enter interstate commerce unless the establishment is part of the CIS Program. The DIRECT Act would provide another way for state inspected products to reach consumers in other states.
3099 was introduced on November 4, 2025, and referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Its provisions have also been included in Section 12110 of the Senate’s Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill. The DIRECT Act does not have a House companion and is not included in the proposed House version of the Farm Bill.
- New Markets Act
The New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2025 (S. 1496) would open interstate market access to state inspected meat and poultry products.
Current law allows products inspected under a state program to be distributed only within the state. The New Markets Act would amend both the FMIA and the PPIA to give USDA the authority to permit state-inspected products to be shipped in interstate commerce. The bill says the USDA “may” allow these shipments, however, but it does not create an approval process or list conditions the USDA would apply. State programs would still have to meet the existing requirement that they be at least equal to federal inspection.
The bill would also prevent state and local governments from prohibiting or restricting the movement or sale of meat and poultry that has been approved for interstate commerce.
The New Markets Act would replace the existing requirement that state inspected meat and poultry be limited to “solely for distribution within such State” with language allowing for distribution in interstate commerce. This would be open to the same range of buyers and markets available to federally inspected establishments. The bill would not, however, permit international sales.
This bill was introduced on April 10, 2025, and referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. It remains pending in committee, does not have a House companion, and is not included in either Farm Bill.
- American Meat Freedom Act
The American Meat Freedom Act (H.R. 7818) would also allow state inspected meat to be sold in interstate commerce. It would amend only the FMIA, so it applies to livestock but not poultry.
The bill would remove the language restricting state inspected meat products to intrastate commerce if four conditions are met. First, USDA must have determined within the previous 36 months that the state’s meat inspection law meets the federal requirements for state inspection programs (“at least equal to”). Second, the processing facility must comply with all applicable requirements of the state inspection law. Third, the meat must have a label stating that it was inspected and passed under a state inspection program for interstate shipment, transportation, and sale. Finally, the state must agree to periodic audits by USDA.
Like the New Markets Act, the proposal would allow a qualifying state inspected processor to ship or sell its meat to customers in other states without using the CIS Program. The main difference is that the American Meat Freedom Act covers only meat and sets specific conditions for interstate sales.
This standalone bill was introduced on March 5, 2026, and was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, where it remains pending. It does not have a Senate companion and is not included in either Farm Bill.
Increasing Processing Capacity
The USDA has recently directed significant funding toward expanding local and regional meat processing capacity. In August 2026, the USDA opened applications for the Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers (SPUR) Program, which provides up to $500 million in temporary support for independent, U.S. owned beef slaughter facilities. Only facilities operating under federal inspection, the Talmadge-Aiken program, or the CIS Program are eligible. The USDA has also made $60 million available through the fourth phase of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The program provides grants to help small, very small, and intermediate processors for projects that expand or diversify processing capacity. This round is limited to facilities that primarily process cattle, although grant funds or equipment may be used to process other meat and poultry products at the facility.
Similarly, Congress is considering legislation that would address processing capacity. In particular, the Expanding Local Meat Processing Act (S. 782) and A-PLUS Act (H.R. 1648) focus on the relationships between livestock auction markets and meat packing operations. These companion bills would allow livestock auction markets and smaller meat packing operations to invest in one another. A Packers and Stockyards Act regulation currently prohibits ownership and financial ties between packers and market agencies that sell livestock on commission, which includes most livestock auction markets.
The bills would lift that prohibition only for packers with a cumulative slaughter capacity of less than 2,000 cattle or sheep per day (700,000 per year) and less than 10,000 hogs per day (3 million per year). To address potential conflicts of interest, a market agency with a covered relationship with a packer would have to disclose the relationship and the packer’s name on the account of sale for livestock sold to that packer.
Creating Alternative Regulation
Most federally inspected meat products are inspected by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). One current proposal, the PRIME Meat Processing in Indian Country Act (S. 3994) would create an additional inspection structure through agreements between USDA and federally recognized tribes. It would amend the FMIA to require USDA, at the request of a Tribe or Tribal organization, to enter into a self-determination contract under which the Tribe would carry out meat inspection. These are commonly called “638” contracts after Public Law 93-638, and they allow Tribes to administer programs a federal agency would otherwise run.
Under these contracts, Tribes could hire and train their own inspectors, who could inspect both amenable species, such as cattle and hogs, and non-amenable species, such as bison. Inspections would have to be at least as strict as federal inspection under the FMIA for amenable species, and as the voluntary inspection standards under the Agricultural Marketing Act for non-amenable species. To qualify, a facility would have to be at least 51% owned by a Tribe, a Tribal organization, or an entity wholly owned by either.
Tribal inspectors would have enforcement authority, including issuing violation notices and stopping processing when necessary. Products inspected under the program would have to meet federal labeling requirements and could be sold in interstate commerce but not exported to foreign markets.
Unlike the other proposals discussed in this article, this bill would change who performs federal meat inspection rather than which products need inspection or where they may be sold.
Conclusion
The proposals introduced during the 119th Congress address several aspects of livestock slaughter and meat processing, including inspection exemptions, state inspection programs, interstate market access, and processing capacity. If enacted, they could create new opportunities for livestock producers and smaller processors while reshaping how meat is inspected, processed, and marketed.