Backroad Meats Inc.

Backroad Meats Inc. operates under USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service establishment numbers M2379, P2379 and V2379 at 16849 110th Ave, Milaca, Minnesota, in Mille Lacs County. The federal record lists meat slaughter and processing, poultry slaughter and processing, and voluntary slaughter and processing for meat, poultry and rabbit. FSIS classes the plant as Very Small, with a grant of inspection date on file of February 20, 2024, and a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. Species reported slaughtered under inspection are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The company website describes a family-owned business run by Rob and Amanda Isaacson with their children Samantha, Alyssa and Wyatt, and states the business opened in December of 2019, which predates the grant of inspection date on file with FSIS. The site lists a crew of named employees. The processing facility at 16849 110th Ave is described as by appointment only and not on the highway. A separate retail store is listed at 19110 US Hwy 169, Milaca, described as about 5 miles north of Milaca, where product processed at the plant is sold.

Work described on the website covers beef, pork, lamb, goat, buffalo and yak, with slaughter, on-site drop off, cutting to order, sausage making, in-house smoking and packaging. The custom processing page also notes that USDA processing is available for beef, pork, lamb, bison, yak and elk, with details by phone. The site invites food trucks and restaurants to have specialty items made, and lists a wholesale and available product page with a large range of cuts, sausages, snack sticks and deli items. Payment is accepted by cash, check or card, with a stated 3.5 percent card fee, and prices are stated to be subject to change without prior notification.

The website lists custom processing prices for whole and half beef at $1.21 per pound hanging weight and quarter beef at $1.27 per pound hanging weight, including slaughter, cooling, cutting, grinding and wrapping or packaging, with a stated minimum whole beef charge of $525.00. Longhorns and Scottish Highlanders carry a stated upcharge of $150 per animal due to added safety issues and inability to walk through the chute. Whole lamb or goat is listed at $150.00 including slaughter, cooling, cutting, grinding and packaging. Whole pig is listed at $1.21 per pound hanging weight and half pig at $1.27 per pound hanging weight, with no quarter pigs. Additional pork charges listed include smoking and slicing bacon or cottage bacon at $2 per pound, smoking and cutting ham at $1.55 per pound, slicing side pork at $1.35 per pound, seasoned pork sausage at $1.55 per pound and plain ground pork at $0.85 per pound. The site states USDA processing is also available for beef, pork, lamb, bison, yak and elk, with details by phone, and that the processing facility at 16849 110th Ave is by appointment only. Prices are stated to be subject to change without prior notification. Booking lead times and scheduling windows are not stated on the site.

Backroad Meats 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.

Product processed at the plant is sold at the retail store at 19110 US Hwy 169, Milaca, described on the website as about 5 miles north of Milaca on Highway 169. The site lists a wide range of retail and wholesale items, including steaks, bacon, brats, summer sausage, snack sticks and ground meats. Buyers looking for a whole, half or quarter animal are told the shop keeps a list of local farmers with pigs and beef available, with quarters available for beef only, and are asked to call. Payment is accepted by cash, check or card, with a 3.5 percent card fee stated. Online ordering, delivery and shipping are not described 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.