Herring Brothers, Inc.

Herring Brothers, Inc. operates at 350 Water Street in Guilford, Maine, in Piscataquis County, under USDA FSIS establishment numbers M9760, P9760, and V9760. The federal record lists meat processing, meat slaughter, poultry processing, and voluntary meat processing and slaughter activities, with a grant of inspection date on file of August 4, 2021. FSIS classes the plant as small and reports cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb slaughtered under inspection, with a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, where animals owned by the customer are returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

According to its website, Herring Brothers Meats is family owned and operated and has been in business since the 1920s, now run by the third and fourth generations, Thomas and Andrea Gilbert and their son Trey Gilbert. The site describes a full time USDA inspected slaughterhouse, smokehouse, and processing plant alongside a separate retail meat market at 346 Water Street. Services listed include slaughter and processing of beef, pork, goats, and lambs, custom cutting to customer specification, and on-site smoking. The website states the business is a certified MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association) processing member. The federal record notes species slaughtered as cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb; the website also names goats.

Products described include whole sides of beef and pork, roasting pigs, individual steaks, fresh beef and pork, smoked products with nitrate free available, cooked products, six ground sausage flavors, and Wicked Good Beef Jerky. The website says sides of beef are all natural Maine beef, dry aged an average of 14 to 21 days, and that two on-site smokehouses are in use. Jerky is sold online in packages of 12 for $30 plus shipping and through named local retailers in Maine.

The website states that custom processing of beef, pork, lambs, and goats is offered for customers raising animals for their own use, and that customers should call to make an appointment for a drop off date, then provide cutting and packaging instructions. Instruction sheets are available at the plant and printable from the website for beef, pork, and lamb or goat. Everything is vacuum sealed, labeled, and frozen. Six sausage seasonings are available, in bulk or in casings, and on-site hickory smoked, brown sugar cured, and nitrate free smoking are offered. For farmers selling to the public, the site describes private label USDA processing and says it services approximately 95 private label accounts; an approved label carrying the farm name and information must be on file with the establishment number before an appointment. A price sheet is posted on the website. Specific fees, minimums, and lead times are not stated in the material on file. Plant office hours are listed as Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm, with pick up Monday to Friday 8am to 12pm and 12:30pm to 4pm.

Herring Brothers, 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.

A retail store at 346 Water Street, Guilford, on Route 15, serves the general public with beef, pork, chicken, and a growing number of smoked and cooked meats, described as Maine meat. The store lists six freezer meat packages and accepts major credit, debit, and EBT cards. The website says locally raised beef is sold by the sides and quarters, along with whole and roasting pigs, and that sides of beef and pork are available at the processing plant. Wicked Good Beef Jerky can be ordered online in a package of 12 for $30 plus shipping, and is also carried at all AE Robinson stores, Whitney's Market in Corinth, Mountain's Market in Dover-Foxcroft, Blue Seal in Bangor, and Sebec General Store in Sebec. Delivery is not mentioned.

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.