Freedom Sausage, Inc.

Freedom Sausage, Inc. operates at 4155 E. 1650th Rd. in Earlville, Illinois, in LaSalle County, under USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service establishment numbers M1996, P8242 and V1996. The federal record lists the plant for meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry slaughter, poultry processing, and voluntary meat slaughter and processing. Its grant of inspection on file is dated August 11, 2021, and FSIS classifies the plant in its smallest size category.

Species reported slaughtered under inspection are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, goats, and elk or deer. FSIS places the plant in slaughter volume category 1.0, meaning fewer than 1,000 head per year. The establishment also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and it reports retail-exempt sales.

The website on file resolves to a general national business directory rather than a page maintained by the establishment, so it supplies no verified detail about this plant. A social media listing associated with the business refers to a beerwurst product. Beyond the federal record, details such as hours, pricing, booking lead times, cut and wrap options, and retail availability are not yet on file.

The federal record shows this plant reports slaughter of cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, goats, and elk or deer under inspection, plus custom-exempt slaughter for animals the customer owns, with those packages marked Not for Sale. Inspected slaughter allows resulting meat to be sold by the pound or by the piece; custom work does not. Volume is small, under 1,000 head per year in the FSIS category, so scheduling capacity is likely limited. Booking procedures, lead times, deposits, kill day schedules, hanging fees, and cut and wrap charges are not stated in the sources on file, so a producer should contact the plant at (815) 792-8276 to confirm what species and dates it takes, as listed.

Freedom Sausage, 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, which generally means some product can be sold directly to consumers at the establishment. The business name and an associated social media listing point to sausage products including beerwurst. No retail counter hours, bundle offerings, halves or quarters pricing, online ordering, delivery, or shipping are described in the sources on file. Households should call ahead to confirm what is available for purchase.

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.