SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Eric Johnson has to haul his Thanksgiving turkeys from Southwood Farm Forge in Kearneysville, W.Va., to a processing facility near Greencastle, Pa., to have them slaughtered.

There are no closer poultry processing facilities, at least partly because small farmers are unable to assume the cost and the regulations involved are discouraging, Johnson said Friday during the 11th Future Harvest-Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture conference at the National Conservation Training Center near Shepherdstown, W.Va.

“For the small farmer, that’s the tripping stone,” Johnson said. “You can’t do it.”

A possible solution — mobile slaughter units — was discussed by U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, who touted the sprawling agency’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” campaign at the two-day conference.

“One of the things that makes people really jittery about (mobile slaughter units), is that the rules that you need to comply with under the (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service are less than clear,” Merrigan said.

Because of that, the agency will publish a compliance guide, possibly next week, to demystify the rules, Merrigan said.

As part of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, the mobile, self-contained slaughter units, which can travel from site to site for the benefit of smaller farmers, will be the subject of two outreach Webinars next Wednesday and Thursday from 1:30 to 3 p.m., according to USDA officials. More information is available at www.fsis.usda.gov/News/regulatory_web_seminars/index.asp.

“We like to say not every family needs an accountant, not every family needs a lawyer, but every family needs a farmer. Do you know yours?” Merrigan said during her opening remarks.

Merrigan also discussed a USDA program for “high tunnels” or hoophouses, which are unheated greenhouses that can help market gardeners extend their growing season.

Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia are among 38 states that are taking part in a USDA pilot project that will provide 75 percent of the funding for the structures that are made of ribs of plastic or metal pipe and covered with a layer of plastic sheeting, according to the USDA.

To sign up for the project, individuals need to contact a local USDA Natural Resource Conservation Office in Ranson or Martinsburg.

Future Harvest-CASA is a network of farmers, agricultural professionals, landowners and consumers living and working in the Chesapeake region.

Amanda Behrens, communcations manager for the nonprofit organization, said 276 people registered for the two-day conference, which was held for the first time in West Virginia. Most of the conference attendees are from Maryland, where Future Harvest-CASA was incorporated in 1998, but Behrens said a there was a notable jump in attendance from West Virginia.

Future Harvest-CASA promotes profitable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable food and farming systems that work to sustain communities.

More information about Future Harvest-Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture is online at www.futureharvestcasa.org. The Know Your Farmer initiative is online at www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer.