Swiss Processing Plant Inc.

Swiss Processing Plant Inc., doing business as Swiss Meat and Sausage Company, operates at 2056 Hwy 19 S. in Hermann, Missouri, in Gasconade County. The plant holds establishment numbers M2969, P2969 and V2969 and is listed by FSIS for meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry processing, voluntary processing of meat and voluntary slaughter of meat. The grant of inspection date on file is July 12, 2021. FSIS lists the establishment as small, with cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb reported as species slaughtered under inspection and a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, where animals owned by the customer are returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The company website describes the business as family owned and operated since 1969. According to the site, Bill and Margie Sloan purchased the Swiss Country Store in May 1965, and Bill, a former meat market manager, began cutting meat and making sausage there, later adding a walk-in cooler and a small processing room to process beef and hogs for local farmers. Bill and business partner Leroy Epple built and opened Swiss Processing Plant Inc. in October 1969 to butcher animals for local farmers. Epple was bought out in 1973 and the operation was doubled with more cooler space, a larger retail area and two more smokehouses. The site describes a late 1990s expansion adding a warehouse, packaging room, cooler space, a sausage kitchen and another smokehouse, and a 2006 retail store addition with an antique kitchen and bratwurst sample bar. Bill and Margie semi-retired in 1998 and passed responsibility to their five children.

The website lists custom butchering and processing, a retail store in Hermann, online ordering with nationwide shipping, curbside pickup, and wholesale accounts for merchants. The site states the company supplies brats and link sausages to wholesale customers and distributors including 25 Dierbergs stores in the St. Louis and Illinois areas and Packers Distributing Company of Springfield, Missouri, and that private labeling is part of the business. The site also references being featured on a Food Network episode of Road Tasted filmed in May 2006, designation as the Official Bratwurst of Saint Charles Oktoberfest, and a 2011 announcement as supplier of the Official Bratwurst of Mizzou Athletics.

The website states that all animals must be pre-booked by calling (573) 486-2086, and that depending on the season the plant is booked 2 to 6 weeks in advance. Producers dropping off livestock are asked to provide the names and telephone numbers of the individuals receiving the animals, and to fill out a Beef ID Form or Hog ID Form and bring it at drop-off. The producer is responsible for having customers call in cutting instructions or complete the online form. Beef instructions must be called in within 4 days of the slaughter date, and pork instructions on the day of slaughter or before. Online beef and hog cutting forms cover whole, half, split half, hind quarter and front quarter beef, and whole or half hog, with packaging in shrink film or vacuum wrap at additional cost. The site notes that animals purchased from Swiss Meat and Sausage Co. require a deposit, and lists cube steak tenderizing at $0.95 per pound. The processing page also references beef, pork, elk and bison. FSIS lists cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb as species slaughtered under inspection, along with custom-exempt slaughter, and a slaughter volume under 1,000 head per year.

Swiss Processing Plant 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 company operates a retail store at 2056 S. Highway 19 in Hermann, Missouri, with curbside pickup available on all orders and an online store. Perishable orders ship only on Mondays and Tuesdays, and orders received after 11:00 a.m. Central Tuesday through Sunday are held until the following Monday. Shipments go by UPS Ground or UPS 2nd Day Air and the site states perishable orders arrive within 2 to 3 days of shipping within the continental United States. Shipping coolers are sized from extra small holding up to 10 pounds to large holding 31 to 60 pounds. Households can also buy whole, half, split half or quarter beef and whole or half hog through the custom butchering forms. Digital gift cards are sold. Retail prices for individual products are not stated in the material 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.