Ebels Family Center, Inc.

Ebels Family Center, Inc., doing business as Ebels Meat Processing, operates at 420 East Prosper Road in Falmouth, Missaukee County, Michigan. The establishment holds FSIS establishment numbers M18988A, P18988A and V18988A, with a grant of inspection date on file of August 12, 2021. FSIS lists it as a small plant with meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry slaughter, poultry processing, voluntary meat processing, voluntary meat slaughter and voluntary rabbit slaughter activities. Species slaughtered under inspection as reported to FSIS are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales. Its FSIS slaughter volume category is 2.0.

The meat operation sits inside Ebels General Store, which the company's website says began in 1920 when Chris Ebels started delivering food and essentials by horse-drawn wagon in Falmouth. The store moved to its current Falmouth site in 1927 and has been run by six generations of the family. The website states that Mark and Dawn Ebels added butchering and meat processing in the early 1980s, including deer processing and smoked meats, and started Little Town Jerky in 1994. A new butchering facility was completed in 2004, which the site describes as approved and inspected daily by the United States Department of Agriculture. The company also operates stores in Reed City and Evart, a clothing department, coffee shops, and Dawn Fresh Catering, Inc., formed in 2001.

The website advertises beef, pork, lamb and deer processing, with printable beef, pork and lamb cut slips and a request that deer customers come to the meat counter during business hours for processing instructions. An after-hours deer drop-off cooler is described at the Falmouth location only, with a callback the next business day. Retail meat is sold at a service meat counter in the store alongside groceries, produce, frozen foods and dairy.

The website addresses Michigan farmers directly, stating that producers raising their own beef, hogs, lambs, goats or sheep can use the plant's USDA inspection to legally resell their products at retail. Species reported to FSIS for inspected slaughter are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison; the plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter for customer-owned animals, with packages marked Not for Sale. The site directs processing questions, including butchering fees and available dates, to (231) 826-3333, extension 1. Beef, pork and lamb cut slips are posted on the site. Booking lead times, drop-off procedures for livestock and minimums are not stated in the sources.

Ebels Family Center, 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.

Retail meat is sold at the service meat counter in the Falmouth store, which the website says also carries groceries, produce, frozen foods and dairy. The site lists whole hog at $2.09 per pound hanging weight (average 200 to 240 pounds) and half hog at $2.39 per pound hanging weight (average 100 to 120 pounds), with smoked meats an additional $1.49 per pound and no packaging or butchering fees. Beef is offered in whole, half or quarter, with half beef averaging 400 to 450 pounds and quarter beef 200 to 225 pounds; the site says to call (231) 826-3333 for market pricing. A promotional 40-pound box of one-pound ground beef rolls was advertised at $159.60, or $3.99 per pound. Online ordering on the site is shown for bakery paczki pre-orders, and the site states shipping is not offered for those. Meat shipping is not stated.

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.