North Georgia Meat Company Inc.

North Georgia Meat Company Inc. operates at 191 Pine Mountain Lane in Ellijay, Gilmer County, Georgia, under USDA FSIS establishment numbers M40168 and P40168. The federal record lists both meat slaughter and meat processing activities, with a grant of inspection date on file of August 9, 2016. FSIS classifies the plant as very small, and its reported slaughter volume falls in category 2.0, above the smallest tier of under 1,000 head per year. Species reported slaughtered under inspection are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb.

The plant reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning it processes animals owned by the customer with packages marked Not for Sale, and it also reports retail-exempt sales. Search listings describe it as a federally inspected meat plant in the north Georgia mountains offering locally sourced beef and pork products, and note that the business was formerly known as Waldrep's Meat Processing.

The website on file for this record, butcherbud.com, is a national butcher directory rather than the establishment's own site, so it contains no information specific to this plant. A separate address, ngmeat.com, appears in search results associated with the business. Hours, pricing, booking practices, cut and wrap options, and retail details beyond the federal record are not yet on file.

The federal record lists both slaughter and processing under federal inspection for cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, and the plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which the animal remains the property of the customer and the resulting packages are marked Not for Sale. That combination means a producer may be able to have animals harvested either under inspection for resale or on a custom basis for personal use, as listed. FSIS classifies the plant as very small with a slaughter volume category of 2.0. Booking windows, scheduling lead times, kill fees, per pound cut and wrap charges, hanging weight terms, and minimums are not stated in the sources on file, so producers should contact the plant at (706) 636-1711 to confirm.

North Georgia Meat Company 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 plant reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS, and search listings describe it as offering locally sourced beef and pork products. Whether there is a staffed retail counter, whether halves and quarters or bundle boxes are sold, and whether delivery, shipping, or online ordering is available are not stated in the sources on file. Buyers can call (706) 636-1711 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.