Luce's Maine Grown Meats

Luce's Maine Grown Meats operates at 366 Embden Pond Road in North Anson, Somerset County, Maine, under FSIS establishment numbers M20321 and V20321. The federal record lists meat processing, meat slaughter, voluntary processing and voluntary slaughter for meat, and voluntary slaughter for rabbit. The plant is classed by FSIS as Very Small, with a grant of inspection date on file of August 2, 2021, and a slaughter volume category of under 1,000 head per year. Species reported slaughtered under inspection are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, bison, and elk or deer.

The associated website, Maine Farm's Brand, describes the North Anson site as Luce's Meats, a slaughterhouse and USDA-inspected processing plant purchased by Arnold and Elaine Luce. The site states the company was formed to connect Maine farmers with restaurants, markets, and consumers, and that the Luce family has raised beef and pork sold locally for over 100 years and has made maple syrup for over 200 years. The website mentions future Maine Farms Brand products in beef and venison. A secondary business listing gives a founding year of 2011, which is not confirmed by the website or the federal record.

In addition to USDA-inspected work, the establishment 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. Details beyond the federal record and the website text above, including hours, fees, scheduling, and cut and wrap options, are not yet on file.

The plant reports slaughter of cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, bison, and elk or deer under federal inspection, and it also reports custom-exempt slaughter for animals owned by the customer, with packages marked Not for Sale. FSIS classes it as Very Small with a slaughter volume of under 1,000 head per year, so capacity is limited. The website directs wholesale, custom, and USDA-inspected slaughter and processing inquiries to the North Anson plant at (207) 635-2817. Booking windows, minimums, hanging weight fees, and cut and wrap charges are not stated in the sources.

Luce's Maine Grown 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 website lists retail sales through Luce's Meat Market at 36 Old Point Avenue, Madison, ME 04950, (207) 696-4003. The company describes itself as selling to restaurants, markets, and directly to consumers under the Maine Farms Brand name, with beef and venison products mentioned. Whether halves, quarters, freezer bundles, online ordering, delivery, or shipping are available is not stated in the sources.

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.