Jemstar Meats LLC

Jemstar Meats LLC operates at 4735 Maysville Rd in Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky, under USDA establishment numbers M45499 and P45499. The federal record lists meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry slaughter, and poultry processing, with a grant of inspection date of January 2, 2020. FSIS classes the plant as very small and places its slaughter volume in category 1, under 1,000 head per year. Species slaughtered under inspection are reported to FSIS as cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The company website describes the facility as a new USDA-approved plant built on a 28-acre property purchased by the Gerber family, with an emphasis on beef and hogs. The site states that custom processing opened the first week of January and that the full retail store opened in April. Alongside fresh meat, the website lists ready-to-eat items, deli products, jellies and jams, baked goods, candies, and specialty grocery items. The website describes beef and pork as the featured meats; the federal record additionally lists sheep and lamb slaughter and poultry activities.

The website presents Jemstar Meats as a continuation of the Gerber family's work in meat processing, citing more than a decade in the industry and their operation of Appalachian Meats in West Liberty since 2008. It states the business serves farm families and customers in Montgomery County and beyond. A secondary listing on farmshare.co describes the plant as processing beef and hog with online harvest slot booking.

The plant reports both USDA-inspected slaughter and custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, so animals can be harvested for resale under inspection or processed as customer-owned with packages marked Not for Sale. Species slaughtered under inspection are reported as cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, and the website states the facility emphasizes beef and hogs. FSIS places annual slaughter volume under 1,000 head, which indicates a very small operation. The website has a Book Custom Processing page and a secondary listing describes booking harvest slots online. Minimums, scheduling lead times, hanging weight fees, and cut and wrap charges are not stated in the sources on file.

Jemstar Meats 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 states that a full retail store opened in April, offering fresh meats, ready-to-eat items, deli products, jellies, baked goods, candies, and specialty grocery items. The plant also reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS. Beef and pork are the meats named on the website. Halves and quarters, bundle pricing, delivery, shipping, and online retail ordering are not addressed 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.