Nettles Beef Processing Inc.

Nettles Beef Processing Inc. operates at 147 S.W County Road 240 in Lake City, Columbia County, Florida, under USDA FSIS establishment number M44200. The federal record lists both Meat Slaughter and Meat Processing activities, with cattle and hogs reported as the species slaughtered under inspection. FSIS classifies the plant as Very Small, with a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning fewer than 1,000 head per year. The grant of inspection date on file is February 17, 2021. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the resulting packages are marked Not for Sale.

The website on file, nettlessausage.com, belongs to Nettles Sausage, Inc., which describes itself as a third generation USDA approved business that has been in Columbia County since 1945 and as a pork and beef processing plant carrying a full line of quality meats. That site states the business is family run by the Nettles family and services stores throughout Florida, parts of southern Alabama, South Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Smoked sausage is the product the site foregrounds, and an online shop is present on the site.

A processing page on the same site refers to cut sheets, processing scheduling, and custom hog processing, which is consistent with the custom-exempt slaughter reported to FSIS. Specifics such as booking windows, fees, minimums, retail counter hours, and cut and wrap options are not stated in the material on file. Buyers and producers should contact the plant at (386) 397-5053 to confirm current availability, as listed.

The federal record lists cattle and hogs as species slaughtered under inspection, and the plant reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning a producer or household can have their own animal processed with packages marked Not for Sale. FSIS places the plant in the smallest slaughter volume category, under 1,000 head per year, so capacity is limited. The website's processing page refers to cut sheets and processing scheduling and mentions custom hog processing. Booking lead times, drop-off days, kill fees, per-pound cut and wrap charges, and hanging weight terms are not stated in the sources on file, so scheduling and pricing should be confirmed by phone at (386) 397-5053.

Nettles Beef Processing 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 presents smoked sausage as the featured product and includes an online shop with a start shopping link, along with a products page. The business describes itself as carrying a full line of quality meats and as supplying stores across Florida and several other states in the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Ohio Valley. Whether halves, quarters, or bundles are sold, and whether shipping or local delivery is offered, is not stated in the material on file. Retail hours are also not stated.

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.