Elizabeth Locker Plant, Inc.

Elizabeth Locker Plant, Inc. operates at 366 Grant St. in Elizabeth, Colorado, in Elbert County, under FSIS establishment numbers M6454, P4896 and V6454. The federal record lists meat slaughter and meat processing, identification for meat and poultry, and voluntary slaughter and voluntary processing for both meat and poultry. FSIS classes the plant as small, with a grant of inspection date on file of December 9, 2021. Species slaughtered under inspection as reported to FSIS are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, with a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packaged marked Not for Sale, and reports retail-exempt sales.

The plant's website dates the business to 1944, when Harold S. Hundley and his wife Celeste began processing farm-killed animals and providing cold storage. A slaughter floor was added in 1947 and a smoke house in 1952. The current building in Elizabeth was built in 1971, and the site states the plant became federally inspected soon after that move. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the plant ran as a cow and bull slaughter operation supplying Denver Boneless, then returned to custom processing and retail with slaughter a couple of days a week. The site states the business today is owned and operated by Michael Hundley and his two sons, Justin and Brian, and that the smoke house was recently updated with a larger smoker for house-made sausages and smoked products.

The website describes both custom processing with downloadable cut slips and fee sheets, and a fully stocked retail section. It states beef comes from a local ranch north of Elizabeth, pork from Limon, and lamb from Elizabeth, with chicken from Red Bird Farms as the only product not processed in house. The site lists membership in AAMP, participation in Colorado Proud, and states that a USDA agent is present at the facility every day and that the plant conducts pathogen testing on products and sample testing of water. Note that FSIS records the grant of inspection date on file as 2021, while the website describes federal inspection beginning after the 1971 move.

The plant reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, meaning animals owned by the customer are processed and returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and it also holds a federal grant for meat slaughter and processing. Species slaughtered under inspection as reported to FSIS are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, at a volume of under 1,000 head per year. The website's custom processing page provides downloadable beef and pork cut slips, which can also be filled in online, plus downloadable fee sheets for hog processing, beef processing, and beef and pork purchase. The site asks that beef cut slips be returned within 7 days of delivery and pork cut slips within 3 days of delivery. The beef cut slip covers carcass tag number, whole, half or quarter, vacuum or paper wrapping, roast size and shape, steak thickness, patty options with a 10 pound minimum, and organ selection. Scheduling lead times, drop-off procedures, and minimums beyond these are not stated in the sources.

Elizabeth Locker Plant, 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.

The website describes a fully stocked retail section carrying local meat, with beef from a ranch north of Elizabeth, pork from Limon, and lamb from Elizabeth. It states all meat is antibiotic, steroid and hormone free, that the majority of beef is grain finished, and that a selection of grass-fed beef is also carried. Whole, half and quarter beef and whole and half hogs are offered, and roaster pigs can be supplied. Listed pricing includes whole and half beef at $5.85 per pound on dressed weight, quarter beef at $6.35 per pound on dressed weight, whole hog roughly $900 and half hog roughly $450 depending on size and processing. Bundle options include a quarter hog bundle of 30 pounds and an eighth beef bundle of 60 pounds, both priced by phone with several different cuts and no substitutions allowed. The retail section also carries Olathe cheese, local honey, spices and dog treats. Cold storage in the locker room is offered for customers without freezer space at home. Delivery and shipping 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.