WASHINGTON — Under current federal law, you can get beef from your own cattle processed locally without a federal inspection only if it’s for your own use.

But if you want to sell individual cuts of that beef, it needs to be processed at USDA-inspected slaughterhouses.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Crescent Springs, who raises grass-fed cattle in Lewis County, said some farmers may need to drive several hours or wait several months to get in a federally inspected facility.

“I sell it on the hoof, which means it’s still alive, and then we take it to a processor,” he said. “Technically, the customer, that’s their live animal that’s getting processed. That’s the only exemption that exists for Kentucky farmers that don’t want to or can’t find or can’t get into a USDA facility.”

Under the PRIME Act

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