National Provisioner Multimedia Specialist Brett Parker sits down with Tom Eickman, president and CEO of Eickman's Processing Co., as they discuss modern hardships facing small meat processors.

In Part 1 of this two-part video interview, Eickman highlights the biggest obstacles small meat processors face today, methods they can adopt to help them survive in the present market, and measures the USDA can take to help make things run smoother for smaller operations.

"Labor has been a huge issue, especially for small guys," Eickman says. "We tend to do a lot of different tasks, different things that we're trying to produce, and we need that labor source."

Watch Part 2 here.