Heartquist Hollow Farm, LLC

Heartquist Hollow Farm, LLC operates a very small USDA-inspected meat plant under establishment numbers M2673 and P2673, listed by FSIS at 4965 N S Rio Camino Rd, Dudleyville, Arizona, in Pinal County. The farm's own contact page gives the same street address with a Winkelman, AZ 85192 mailing designation. FSIS lists the plant for meat slaughter and meat processing, with cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb slaughtered under inspection, and a grant of inspection date on file of April 22, 2024. The plant is in the smallest FSIS slaughter volume category, under 1,000 head per year, and it reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning it also processes animals owned by the customer with packages marked Not for Sale.

The business describes itself as a family operation that began in 2017 as a homestead intended to teach the owners' children where food comes from. It started with chickens, then sheep, then pigs, and used neighbors' unused pastures as the herds grew. In June of 2021 the family purchased a ranch in Winkelman, Arizona, joining their lamb and heritage pork focus with the previous family's grass-fed beef focus. The website states the plant is operated by the farm at the ranch and that the farm processes its own livestock on site.

Product emphasis on the website is Arizona raised, grass fed and grass finished beef, grass fed lamb, and pasture raised pork, described as hormone-free, steroid-free, vaccine free, and antibiotic-free. The farm also sells pasture chicken eggs, fed with organic, corn and soy free grain, and refrigerator pickles from the homestead garden. Sales channels named are an online store, local farmers markets, and locally owned businesses in the Phoenix and Tucson valleys. Whether the plant takes in livestock from other producers is not stated on the website; the FSIS record notes custom-exempt slaughter activity but does not describe booking or terms.

The FSIS record lists this plant for meat slaughter and meat processing of cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, and it reports custom-exempt slaughter, which means animals owned by a customer can be processed with packages marked Not for Sale. The plant is in the under 1,000 head per year volume category. The website describes the facility as processing the farm's own livestock on site and does not state whether outside animals are accepted, and no booking process, scheduling lead time, minimums, kill fees, or cut and wrap charges are listed. Farmers should contact the plant directly to confirm availability.

Heartquist Hollow Farm, LLC reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, which means it can process an animal a customer already owns (a whole, half, or share bought before slaughter) and return it in packages marked Not for Sale. Most small farms have one or two plants they book with, and the plant's calendar decides the delivery date.

Retail sales are described through an online store, local farmers markets, and locally owned businesses in the Phoenix and Tucson valleys. Farm visits and order pickup are by appointment only. Customer comments on the website mention holding pre-ordered boxes for pickup at the farmers market. Halves and quarters, bundle pricing, shipping, and delivery are not mentioned in the sources.

If you are buying a half or quarter animal, the plant is where the animal is processed; the farm sells you the animal. Read how to buy a half cow for the sequence and the math.