Poultry sold as food has to be slaughtered under inspection, with a few exemptions small farms use. The smallest covers a farmer who slaughters no more than 1,000 birds a year, all of their own raising, buys and sells no other poultry, and whose birds don't move in commerce as the rule defines it. Above that, up to 20,000 birds a year, the producer/grower exemption covers birds raised and processed on the farm and sold only within the state, labeled with the farm's name and address and "Exempted—P.L. 90-492", as long as the farm doesn't buy or sell other poultry. A related exemption covers selling straight to households, restaurants and hotels in the state. None of these applies at a processing facility another person also uses, unless FSIS approves it. States add their own rules, and some require a license. In the example below, a Missouri farm checks which exemption its 1,760 birds a year fall under.
The short version
- Up to 1,000 birds of your own raising: no buying or selling other poultry, none in commerce.
- Up to 20,000: the producer/grower exemption, raised and processed on your farm, sold in your state.
- Exempt birds carry your name, address and "Exempted P.L. 90-492".
- Buying or selling other poultry ends the producer/grower exemption.
- A facility another person also uses needs FSIS approval.
- Your state can add a license or its own limits.
- TaroStack keeps each processing day as a lot. More below.
The exemptions
| Exemption | Birds a year | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Own raising | 1,000 or fewer | Raised on your own farm; no buying or selling other poultry; none moves in commerce |
| Producer/grower | Up to 20,000 | Raised and processed on your premises; sold only in your state; labeled with name, address and Exempted P.L. 90-492; no buying or selling other poultry |
| Direct to households, restaurants and hotels | Up to 20,000 | Sold only in your state, straight to household consumers, restaurants, hotels and boardinghouses; the same label |
| Small enterprise | Up to 20,000 | Slaughtering or cutting up whole birds or parts sold in your state; labeled in full, without an inspection mark |
| Over 20,000, or sold out of state | Inspection |
Inspection itself is in usda meat inspection requirements, and the hazards in processing in poultry haccp plan.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Own raising | 1,000 poultry a calendar year of the producer's own raising on their own farm, no buying or selling other poultry products, none moving in commerce (9 CFR 381.10(c); 21 U.S.C. 464(c)) |
| Producer/grower | Raised and processed on the producer's premises, distributed only within the state, labeled with name, address and Exempted P.L. 90-492, no buying or selling other poultry (381.10(a)(5)) |
| Direct sales | Distributed only within the state, straight to household consumers, restaurants, hotels and boardinghouses, with the same labeling (381.10(a)(6)) |
| Small enterprise | Slaughtering or cutting up for carcasses or parts within the state, not misbranded, without the inspection legend (381.10(a)(7)) |
| Limits | No (a)(5) to (a)(7) exemption above 20,000 poultry a year, or at a facility another person uses, unless FSIS approves an application (381.10(b)) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: which exemption fits
Hickory Bottom Farm, the made-up pastured poultry farm in Missouri I use in these examples, raises meat chickens from May to October, processes them on the farm, and sells them frozen at a market, to three restaurants and as 10-bird shares. Its owner checked each option against 1,760 birds a year:
| Option | Fits? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The 1,000-bird exemption | No | 1,760 birds is over 1,000 |
| The producer/grower exemption | Yes | All raised and processed on the farm, all sold in Missouri, under 20,000 |
| Buying a neighbor's birds to fill restaurant orders | No | Buying other poultry would end the exemption |
| Processing at a neighbor's setup | Only with FSIS approval | A facility another person uses needs an approved application |
| A restaurant across the line in Kansas | No | Exempt poultry is sold only in the state |
Every bag carries the farm's name and address and "Exempted P.L. 90-492", and the farm holds the license its state asks for. The Kansas restaurant would need birds from an inspected plant. The farm's year is in chicken business plan.
Get the checker
Download the poultry exemption checker. One sheet: the birds you'll process this year, whether all are your own raising, whether you buy or sell other poultry, whether any leave the state, and whether another person uses your processing facility; what can fit fills in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The checker sorts the exemption. Counting the year's birds, labeling every bag, and knowing which processing day went to which restaurant are the records that back it up.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each processing day as a lot, so the year's count and every buyer are on record.
Lots by processing day. Each day's birds are a lot with the date and the count.
Frozen birds by date. Orders take the oldest lots first by default.
Recalls. If a processing day goes wrong, one report shows every restaurant and customer who got its birds.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Birds processed this year | Added up from notes | From the lots |
| Which birds go out first | Dates on the bags | First-expired-first-out |
| Who got a day's birds | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, first-expired-first-out and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.