Rainbow Packing Inc.

Rainbow Packing Inc. operates a very small USDA-inspected plant at 3532A 18th Road in Escanaba, Delta County, Michigan. The establishment holds meat, poultry, and voluntary inspection numbers M10047, P10047, and V10047, with a grant of inspection dated August 11, 2021. FSIS lists the plant for meat slaughter and meat processing, poultry processing, voluntary meat processing, voluntary meat slaughter, and voluntary rabbit slaughter.

Species slaughtered under federal inspection, as reported to FSIS, are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison. The plant reports annual slaughter volume in the lowest FSIS category, under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning it processes animals owned by the customer with packages marked Not for Sale, and reports retail-exempt sales.

A secondary directory listing describes the plant as a USDA federally inspected harvesting and processing plant owned and operated by Jeff and Sue Sicotte. The website on file is a Facebook page, and no website text was available for this record. Hours, pricing, scheduling practices, cut and wrap details, and retail offerings are not yet on file beyond the federal record.

The federal record lists cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and bison as species slaughtered under inspection, and the plant reports custom-exempt slaughter for animals owned by the customer, with packages marked Not for Sale. Voluntary inspection covers additional meat slaughter and processing plus rabbit slaughter. FSIS classifies the operation as very small, with annual slaughter under 1,000 head, so capacity is limited. Booking windows, lead times, minimums, kill day schedules, hanging fees, and cut and wrap charges are not stated in the sources on file. Farmers should contact the plant directly to confirm what species and dates are being scheduled, as listed.

Rainbow Packing 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.

The plant reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS, which indicates some direct sales activity, and secondary directories list it under butcher shop and meat packer categories. Whether there is a staffed retail counter, whether halves and quarters or bundles are sold, and whether delivery or shipping is offered are not stated in the sources on file. Buyers who purchase a whole or half animal from a farmer can have it processed under the custom-exempt option, in which case the packages are marked Not for Sale and cannot be resold.

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.