Palmer Farms Meats

Palmer Farms Meats operates at 301 East 4th Street in Benton, Kentucky, in Marshall County, and also does business as Laird Meat Co and Laird Sheep Co. The plant holds federal establishment numbers M8083 and V8083, with a grant of inspection dated January 14, 2022. FSIS lists it under meat processing, meat slaughter, voluntary processing and voluntary slaughter, and classifies it as very small. Species reported slaughtered under inspection are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison. The establishment also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale. Its FSIS slaughter volume category is 1.0, meaning under 1,000 head per year.

The website on file, palmerfarmsbeef.com, belongs to Palmer Farms Beef, a family grass-finished beef farm in Western Kentucky that lists the same 301 East 4th Street address in Benton. Stacie and Mike Palmer, with their three children, own Palmer Farms Beef. The site describes five generations of cattle raising on the family farm, starting as a 100-head Jersey dairy and shifting to a grass-finished beef operation, and says the family has supplied customers with grass-fed beef for over a decade. Calves are born on the farm and graze its fields with no grain introduced, and the site states the beef contains no hormones or antibiotics. The site states that all Palmer Farms Beef is inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and carries the Kentucky Proud seal.

The website presents the farm and its beef sales rather than the plant's processing services, so the two records cover different ground. Hours, custom booking procedures, cut and wrap fees, and slaughter scheduling are not stated in the material on file. A secondary directory listing describes USDA meat processing including cattle, hogs, lamb and goats, plus retail beef and whole hog sausage; goats are not among the species the plant reports slaughtering to FSIS, so that detail is unconfirmed. Details beyond the federal record and the farm website are not yet on file.

The establishment reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, meaning it processes animals owned by the customer and returns product marked Not for Sale, alongside federally inspected slaughter and processing. Species reported slaughtered under inspection are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison. FSIS places the plant in slaughter volume category 1.0, under 1,000 head per year, and classifies it as very small. Booking procedures, lead times, minimums, kill days, hanging weight pricing, and cut and wrap fees are not stated in the sources on file. Producers should call (270) 527-3821 to confirm current availability and terms, as listed.

Palmer Farms Meats 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 affiliated farm brand, Palmer Farms Beef, sells 100% grass-fed beef raised on the family farm in Western Kentucky, with calves born on the farm and finished on forage, and states that the beef carries no hormones or antibiotics. The farm operates an online shop and instructs buyers to select Local Pick-Up at checkout, noting that additional items are available exclusively at the farm. The site also mentions selling at a local farmers market. Shipping, retail counter hours, and half or quarter beef bundles are not described in the sources on file. Farm contact is palmerfarmsbeef@gmail.com or (270) 227-1614.

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.