Kiowa Locker System, LLC

Kiowa Locker System, LLC, doing business as Chieftain Brand Meats, is a very small USDA-inspected establishment at 128 South 6th Street in Kiowa, Barber County, Kansas. It holds establishment numbers M21585, P21585 and V21585, with a grant of inspection date on file of July 12, 2021. FSIS lists its activities as meat processing, meat slaughter, voluntary processing of meat and voluntary slaughter of meat. Species slaughtered under inspection, as reported to FSIS, are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and it reports retail-exempt sales. Its FSIS slaughter volume category is 1.0, meaning under 1,000 head per year.

According to the establishment website, Chieftain Brand Meats originally opened in 1942 in Kiowa. Bill Hitchcock purchased the business in 1970, and his son Rick now owns and runs the locker system. The website describes the business as a USDA-inspected locker system offering custom slaughter for beef, pork, lamb and bison, with curing and sausage manufacturing as additional services, and states that a USDA inspector is onsite at all times overseeing the slaughter process. The site also states the business is one of a handful of USDA-inspected slaughter facilities in Oklahoma and Kansas.

The federal record lists the address as 128 South 6th Street, while several third-party business directories list Kiowa Locker System at 611 Main Street in Kiowa. Buyers and haulers should confirm the location by phone at (620) 825-4538. Nothing here should be read as a statement that the plant is currently accepting work; details are given as listed.

The website states that custom slaughter is offered for beef, pork, lamb and bison, and that customers should download and complete a cutting order form, then email it to rickh56@yahoo.com or hand deliver the instructions to the locker. Separate beef and pork cutting instruction forms are provided in Word and PDF formats. The plant reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, with packages marked Not for Sale, alongside its inspected slaughter of cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison. FSIS places annual slaughter volume under 1,000 head, so scheduling capacity is limited. Booking lead times, minimums, kill fees, hanging weight rates and cut-and-wrap pricing are not stated in the sources on file.

Kiowa Locker System, LLC 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 describes a freezer section for retail customers, carrying Sterling Silver Brand steaks, described on the site as hand selected from the top 12 percent of all beef including Prime and top tier Choice, and Cattle Tracks Beef, described as an organic beef product sourced near Fairview, Oklahoma. Other items listed include cheeses, meat seasoning, Over the Fence Farms pickles, dressings and mustards, fish, lunch meats, lamb, beef, pork and lamb bundles, jerky and snack sticks, and meat and cheese trays. The site states that checks, cash, credit cards and EBT cards are accepted, and invites customers to stop in or call. Online ordering, shipping, delivery, and sales of halves or quarters are not mentioned in the sources on file.

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.