Market Day

          We got to get out of the office today and travel to the Ravenna livestock market.  This sale was primarily for finished steers and culled dairy cows, but there were also goats, sheep, and deacon calves.  We were able to tour the market from an observation deck with one of the USDA Inspectors.  We learned about how the market runs and what the role of the Inspector is within the market.  I would have thought that a USDA Inspector would have a lot of power to regulate and cite the market for violations whether they are for failure to properly identify animals or for welfare issues.  In reality, the Inspector rarely writes a market a ticket, even though he has a ticket book “somewhere” in his truck.  Instead of the USDA inspector policing and punishing markets, he educates employees and producers and reminds them of proper procedures.  Often, a reminder is all that’s really required of most markets.  If a market employee or a producer continues to violate regulations, the Inspector can report them to the Compliance Department, which can sort out the situation through warnings or fines.

            The Inspector, Jeff, did say that he thinks welfare concerns will start to take up more of his time in the markets as bovine TB is less of a concern to this southern Lower Peninsula market.

                                             Front of the Ravenna Market