Horst Meats

Horst Meats operates at 17807 Reiff Rd. in Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, under USDA FSIS establishment numbers M7882 and P7882. The federal record lists the plant for meat slaughter and meat processing, with a grant of inspection dated February 26, 2020, and a Very Small size class. Species slaughtered under inspection, as reported to FSIS, are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb. The plant reports both custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales. Its FSIS slaughter volume category is 2.0, above the under 1,000 head per year tier.

A directory page on file for Horst Meats Retail Market LLC describes a family-owned butcher shop in Hagerstown selling beef, pork, chicken, specialty sausages, steaks, roasts, lunch meats, cheeses, groceries, honey, and homemade potato chips, with custom cutting to customer specifications and special orders for large events. That page attributes Amish roots to the business but gives no founding year. A Yelp snippet for Horst Meats states that in addition to wholesale and processing meat, the business offers a retail store. Hours, booking lead times, custom processing fees, and cut and wrap details are not stated in the sources on file. Address listings vary slightly between sources: FSIS records 17807 Reiff Rd., while a chamber directory lists 17809 Reiff Church Road.

FSIS records show Horst Meats as a Very Small plant with both slaughter and processing activities, slaughtering cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection, and the plant reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning it will process animals a customer owns and return the meat in packages marked Not for Sale. Its slaughter volume category of 2.0 places it above the smallest tier. A directory question and answer suggests the shop processes and packages for growers who sell their own product and advises calling for pricing. Booking windows, scheduling minimums, hanging weight charges, cut and wrap fees, and whether the plant is currently taking new custom work are not stated in the sources on file.

Horst 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 directory page on file describes a retail market with a staffed counter where beef, pork, chicken, sausages, steaks, roasts, lunch meats, and cheeses are cut to order during a visit, along with groceries, honey, and homemade potato chips. Special orders and large event orders are described as available, and one reviewer describes placing a large order by phone and receiving curbside loading. A question and answer on that page indicates whole or half hogs can be ordered, and that retail case meat is most likely conventional rather than grass fed and finished. Prices, hours, delivery, shipping, and online ordering are not stated 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.