Colorado Homestead Ranches, Inc.

Colorado Homestead Ranches, Inc., doing business as Homestead Meats, operates a USDA-inspected plant at 741 W. 5th Street in Delta, Colorado, in Delta County. The establishment holds federal numbers M7748, P7748 and V7748, with FSIS activities listed as meat processing, meat slaughter, poultry processing, voluntary meat processing and voluntary meat slaughter. FSIS classifies the plant as Very Small, and the grant of inspection date on file is July 23, 2021.

Under federal inspection the plant reports slaughtering hogs, sheep and lamb, with a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales. Search listings describe Homestead Meats as a USDA-inspected custom processing facility in Western Colorado that sources cattle, and reference a retail store at the Delta location carrying steaks and hamburger.

The website on file, homesteadbeef.com, returned no readable text when fetched, so details beyond the federal record and brief third-party listings are not yet on file. Farmers and household buyers should contact the plant at (970) 874-1145 to confirm species handled, scheduling and what is available at the counter.

The plant reports both USDA-inspected slaughter and custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, so animals can be processed either for resale under inspection or returned to the owner in packages marked Not for Sale. Species reported slaughtered under inspection are hogs, sheep and lamb; a third-party listing describes the facility as a custom processing facility sourcing cattle, so beef handling should be confirmed directly. Slaughter volume is in the smallest FSIS category, under 1,000 head per year. Booking windows, lead times, minimums, kill fees and cut and wrap charges are not stated in the sources on file.

Colorado Homestead Ranches, Inc. 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.

A third-party listing states that the Delta facility includes a retail store carrying steaks and hamburger, and the plant reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS. Halves and quarters, bundle pricing, online ordering, delivery and shipping are not addressed in the sources on file. Buyers should call (970) 874-1145 to confirm what is available.

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.