Compliance Monitoring
Meat, poultry, eggs and other
Schenectady Greenmarket is committed to creating a diverse marketplace with the highest
quality products produced locally by our vendors. It is against the policy of Schenectady
Greenmarket for any member to purchase items and resell them at the market. Only items
which are produced by a member, or his/her household or employee, on land owned or rented
by that member may be sold.
In an effort to ensure that all products for sale at the market fall under our producer-only rule
and that vendors are abiding by the Rules and Regulations set-up by Schenectady
Greenmarket, we are compiling Compliance Monitoring Documents for each category of vendor.
These documents will help all vendors as they determine their product mix.
Customers are increasingly concerned about where their meat, eggs and other animal products
come from and how the animals are treated over the course of their lifetime. Schenectady
Greenmarket’s priority is to ensure that the animal products available for sale at the market are
raised under humane conditions and that the farms follow humane animal husbandry practices.
Allowed products under the Meat, Poultry, Egg and Other Animal Products Category
- Meat Products – 100% from animals born on the farm and/or raised from weaning by the
vendor - Poultry – from birds raised by the vendor from chicks
- Eggs – from the vendor’s own fowl
- Fresh and Salt Water Fish – raised by the vendor from fingerlings of no more than 2” in
size or caught in, or off, the coast of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, Rhode Island or New Hampshire
Meat Products
Schenectady Greenmarket will only allow meat products to be sold from animals raised from
weaning by the vendor. At time of sale all products must be antibiotic and hormone free as per
USDA regulations.
Grass fed/grass finished meats must be grass-fed/grass finished to be sold under this moniker.
Any animal that has been fed grain must be categorized as either grain fed/ grain finished or
grass fed/grain finished.
All vendors should be able to provide documentation of where and when the animals were
slaughtered and processed according to state and federal rules. In many instances this will
include documentation of a USDA facility and/or specialty licenses.
In instances of “exotic” or farm raised game, the animals must be processed under a 5A license
according to the rules and regulations of NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. For large
game such as elk or bison, a licensed veterinarian or USDA inspector must be present at time
of slaughter as per NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets rules and regulations.
Poultry Products
Schenectady Greenmarket will only allow poultry to be sold from birds raised by the vendor from
chicks. All vendors must be able to provide documentation for the purchase of these chicks in
addition to documentation of where and when they were processed.
Eggs
Schenectady Greenmarket will only allow eggs to be sold from the vendor’s own fowl. All
vendors should be able to provide documentation for the purchase of these fowl.
Fresh and Salt-Water Fish
Schenectady Greenmarket will only allow the sale of farm-raised fish from vendors who raise
their own fish from fingerlings of no more than 2” in size.
Schenectady Greenmarket will allow the sale of salt-water fish caught from vendors who either
own or rent vessels with the purpose of catching fish. Fish sold at the market must be caught by
vendors or their employees in waters off the coast of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, Rhode Island or New Hampshire only.
Additional Documents Needed
Purchase orders and/or invoices for chicks – meat birds and/or laying hens
Purchase orders and/or invoices for young stock – calves, piglets, etc.
Purchase orders and/or invoices for fingerling fish
Ownership or rental agreements for vessels from which fish are caught
Catch permits
Weekly inventory/sales sheets for the prior 12 months