West Michigan Beef Co. LLC

West Michigan Beef Co. LLC operates a USDA-inspected beef slaughter and processing plant at 3007 Van Buren Street in Hudsonville, Ottawa County, Michigan. The plant holds establishment numbers M1816, P1816 and V1816, with FSIS activities listed as meat processing, meat slaughter and voluntary slaughter of meat. FSIS classes the plant as small, records cattle as the species slaughtered under inspection, and places it in slaughter volume category 3.0. The grant of inspection date on file is October 14, 2021. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and reports retail-exempt sales.

According to its website, the business was started in 2003 by Ron and Don Vander Boon in response to the need for a small, local meat packer able to slaughter and process a variety of cattle from surrounding farms. The founders describe themselves as the third generation in a family beef packing business. Early on, chilled carcasses were shipped whole or in quarters to other establishments for further processing. A processing operation began at a vacant facility in Kalamazoo in 2007 and was moved to Hudsonville in 2009 after renovation. The website states that nearly all chilled carcasses are now processed at the company's own facility, with processed meat shipped to customers in West Michigan as well as Detroit and Chicago.

The website describes the company as a wholesale beef packing plant supplying locally owned, regional and national customers. It states that the operation runs under USDA regulations and inspection and that its HACCP-based food safety and quality system is independently audited by a third party to Global Food Safety Initiative, Safe Quality Food standards, with prerequisite programs including pest control, employee hygiene, approved suppliers, sanitation, training, and specified risk material removal and segregation. The company also describes waste reduction practices, including composting or land application of holding barn waste, rendering and pet food uses for slaughter byproducts, local cattle buying, and selling nearly 80 percent of meat produced within a 25 mile radius. A secondary business directory lists a founding year of 2002; the company's own site states 2003.

The website lists slaughtering and processing of beef steers, heifers, cows and bulls, and separately lists custom slaughtering of steers, heifers, cows and bulls. It states the company continues to offer local growers, county fairs and similar customers custom slaughter along with shipping of carcass quarters to local processors, and asks callers to contact the office for pricing, information and scheduling. Prices, minimums, lead times and cut and wrap options are not stated in the sources. Drop-off hours are listed on the home page as Monday through Friday, 6 am to 6 pm, while the contact page lists drop-off hours as Monday through Friday, 6 am to midnight; office hours are listed as Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3 pm. The website includes an animal handling page describing a commitment to humane livestock handling. FSIS records the plant as reporting custom-exempt slaughter, meaning customer-owned animals are returned in packages marked Not for Sale.

West Michigan Beef Co. LLC 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 describes West Michigan Beef as a wholesale beef packing plant serving locally owned, regional and national customers, with processed meat shipped to buyers in West Michigan, Detroit and Chicago. FSIS records indicate the establishment reports retail-exempt sales, but the website does not describe a retail counter, halves or quarters sold to households, bundles, online ordering, delivery or shipping to consumers. Households interested in buying should contact the office directly; the sources do not state whether direct sales to individuals are offered.

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.