Professional trainers at the Savory Institute, Holistic Management International, and other regenerative agriculture organizations often stress, “You can’t monitor what you don’t measure.”
When talking with ranchers seeking to improve management of their land and herds, the trainers say that the same adage is even more critical for meat and poultry processors.
The unique characteristics of meat and poultry processing make it difficult—and sometimes impossible—to use standard manufacturing monitoring tools to measure performance. Most commercial manufacturing enterprises transform components into finished products. Processors start with live animals and then break down the carcass into potentially hundreds of products.
How the heck do you measure that?
The Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN), in collaboration with Good Roots Consulting, developed a valuable new tool for processors wanting to measure costs and revenue last year in a document entitled "The Importance of Key Performance Indicators for Meat Processors." Three meat processors opened their books to NMPAN and Good Roots.
The study at one processor analyzes indicators with scheduling, pounds produced per day, and yield tracking. The second processor provided information on productivity, quality assurance, and margins. Information at the third processor also looked at scheduling and yields, but also delved into profitability.
This 26-page document is a must-read, packed with gold nuggets that can help smaller processors take a fresh look at the factors within their plants that are impacting performance and profitability. NMPAN and Good Roots also hosted an informative webinar on the report. That is available here.
Knowing where you are headed starts with knowing where you’re at. Delving into this useful information is a great way to start for smaller meat processors.
