Westcliffe Meats

Westcliffe Meats is a very small USDA-inspected plant at 1358 CR 140 in Westcliffe, Custer County, Colorado, operating under establishment numbers M45729, P45729 and V45729. The FSIS directory lists activities covering meat slaughter and processing, poultry slaughter and processing, meat identification, and voluntary slaughter and processing of meat and rabbit. The grant of inspection on file is dated October 26, 2021. The plant reports slaughtering cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, bison, and elk or deer under inspection, with a slaughter volume category of under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The website describes the business as a locally owned and operated meat packing plant at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in operation since 2015, and states it is the only USDA inspected facility in the Wet Mountain Valley, serving Custer County and surrounding areas. It describes a safe and humane handling processing program. Species listed on the website include beef, bison, yak, pork, and other species. Products are vacuum sealed and boxed, and custom labels are available on request.

Published pricing and detailed cut sheets are posted for beef, pork, lamb and goat, along with a wild game cut sheet page. The site also states that various retail cuts are available for purchase. Details beyond the federal record and the website text above, such as delivery, shipping, or online retail ordering, are not on file.

The website posts per-head and per-pound pricing. Beef is $125 slaughter per head plus $1.25 per pound carcass weight processing, with a 500 pound minimum carcass weight charged, $15 extra slaughter fee for carcasses over 1,000 pounds hanging weight, $15 extra for horns over 36 inches, $50 for skinning the head, $2.00 per pound for adding beef fat to ground, patties at a $125 minimum then $1.25 per batch, and $0.25 per pound extra for non standard cutting outside the plant cut sheet. Bison is $150 slaughter with $1.55 per pound processing and a 500 pound minimum carcass weight; yak uses the same rates with a 300 pound minimum. Domestic elk under USDA inspection is $165 per head slaughter and $2 per pound processing. Lamb and goat are $160 per animal. Hogs are $100 slaughter, $1.15 per pound processing, $1.25 per pound curing, $2.50 per pound smoking, and $1.50 per pound for mixing sausage, with 25 pound minimums on breakfast, Italian, chorizo and brat sausage. The beef cut sheet states no custom quarters. Online cut sheets are provided for beef, pork, lamb and goat, and a wild game cut sheet page is posted. After notification of pickup, an additional fee of $5.00 per day is charged after 7 days until meat is picked up. Booking procedures and scheduling lead times are not stated in the sources.

Westcliffe Meats 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 states that Westcliffe Meats has various retail cuts available for purchase, and the plant reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS. Finished product is vacuum sealed and boxed. Household buyers who are receiving meat from a farmer's animal can be named as the recipient on the beef, pork, or lamb and goat cut sheets, and boxing options on the beef sheet include whole beef, whole beef boxed in halves or quarters, half beef, and half beef boxed in quarters, though the beef cut sheet states no custom quarters are sold. Retail prices, bundles, delivery, shipping, and online ordering are not stated 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.