Upper Iowa Beef LLC

Upper Iowa Beef LLC operates a cattle slaughter and meat processing plant at 4614 Highway 63 in Lime Springs, Howard County, Iowa. The establishment carries USDA FSIS establishment number M45321, with FSIS activities listed as Meat Slaughter and Meat Processing and cattle reported as the species slaughtered under inspection. FSIS classifies the plant as small, with a grant of inspection date on file of July 23, 2021, and places it in slaughter volume category 3.0. No custom-exempt activity is reported to FSIS.

The company website states that Upper Iowa Beef was founded in 2017 and opened in November of that year, processing 25 head per day with 35 employees for a single customer. The site's timeline reports growth to 260 head per day and 150 employees in 2021, 470 head per day and 300 employees in 2023, and 525 head per day with 320 employees in 2025, buying from 302 cattle suppliers and selling to 74 meat customers. The website describes exports beginning to Asian countries in 2021, expanding to 11 countries in 2023, and continuing to 7 countries in 2025. The FSIS size class of small should be read alongside these company-reported daily figures.

The website describes the business as owned and operated by individuals engaged in agriculture, sourcing cattle from farms in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Product pages name Certified Angus Beef and Certified Angus Beef Prime, described as USDA G-1 certified programs requiring Choice or Prime grading plus additional specifications. The site includes sections on producers, food safety, sustainability, where to buy, and a contact form. It does not describe a retail counter, custom processing for individual farm customers, or hours of operation.

A search listing from Howard County notes the business was originally known as Lime Springs Beef.

The website has an Information for Producers section and states that the company purchases cattle from hundreds of suppliers across Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, reporting 302 cattle suppliers in 2025. This is a cattle purchasing relationship rather than a described custom kill service. FSIS records show no custom-exempt activity at this establishment, and the sources do not state booking procedures, scheduling lead times, kill fees, cut and wrap charges, or minimums. Producers interested in supplying cattle would need to contact the plant directly at (563) 566-2202.

Upper Iowa Beef LLC operates under a federal grant of inspection, so product from this plant can be sold anywhere in the United States, which matters if you sell online or across a state line. FSIS does not list a custom-exempt activity for this plant.

The website includes a Where to Buy page along with beef nutrition information, cooking tips, and recipes, indicating the beef reaches consumers through distribution partners and retail channels rather than through a described on-site retail counter. The sources do not state that the plant sells halves or quarters, bundles, direct online orders, or shipping to households.

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.