LAS VEGAS — The decline of Las Vegas buffets has impacted more than tourists on the Strip. It has also forced a local farm to change how it feeds its animals.
Las Vegas Livestock, which feeds thousands of pigs with food scraps, has shifted its operation from relying on casino buffets to sourcing from grocery stores and warehouses.
“We have about 5,000 hogs here at the time at this moment that we feed totally with food waste,” said Sarah Stallard of Las Vegas Livestock.
The farm collects tons of food scraps daily, which are cleaned, pasteurized and repurposed as pig feed. Before the pandemic, most of that waste came from the Strip.
Pandemic forced operational shift
“Before the pandemic, we were mostly servicing casino hotels, sort of those one-stop properties,” Stallard. “After the pandemic, it kind of caused a shift in where we were going to get that from.”
When the Strip shut down during COVID-19, Las Vegas Livestock turned to grocery stores and warehouses to keep its animals fed. The shift required equipment upgrades to handle different types of waste.
“We implemented the system to take out the inorganic material,” Stallard said.
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The farm now processes packaging like hot sauce containers and ketchup bags mechanically rather than by hand.
“Pre-pandemic, we were probably processing 30 tons a day, and now we process close to 55 tons a day,” Stallard said.
New sources provide stability
The disappearance of buffets forced the operation to evolve its process.
“When we do see lower food scraps coming in, it would just mean we’re downsizing inventory, which means we’re then selling less when they are ready for market,” Stallard said.
The shift to grocery stores has provided a more consistent supply.
“Thankfully, the shift that we made implementing that waste sorting technology has given us access to that grocery store market, and that is very consistent,” Stallard said.
Stallard said her father used the food scrap animal feeding method 70 years ago in California. Las Vegas Livestock is at the center of that process in Clark County and has advanced its operation to be sustainable for years to come.
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