University of Missouri Meat Market

The University of Missouri Meat Market, doing business as Mizzou Meat Market, holds federal establishment number M5777A and is listed with USDA FSIS at 1406 East Rollins Street, Columbia, Missouri, in Boone County. FSIS records list both meat slaughter and meat processing activities, a Very Small size class, and a grant of inspection dated June 22, 2020. The plant reports slaughtering cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection, with a reported slaughter volume category of under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt processing.

The market's website describes it as a fully functional USDA-inspected facility operated by students of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, with the stated purpose of giving students hands-on experience in producing cuts and in running a business. The site lists harvest, processing, and retail sales as its services. Contact information on the site varies by page: the home and contact pages give 147 Eckles Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, while the About page lists 1102 Ashland Road, Columbia, MO 65201. The FSIS address on file is 1406 East Rollins Street. The phone number, (573) 882-0591, is the same in the federal record and on the website.

Retail price lists on the site cover a wide range of beef and pork items, and the site notes that availability and pricing can vary and asks customers to call about current stock. A bundles page states that bundle orders are not being accepted and that quarter beef bundles are unavailable, while also describing the contents of a quarter beef bundle and a half hog bundle. Holiday pre-order forms are shown for smoked turkey, smoked ham, green ham, and prime rib. Beyond these details, no further information is on file.

The website invites customers wanting to process their own beef or pork to make contact through a form, and provides beef, pork, and lamb cut sheets for customers who already have a processing date set. It states that all bundles, special orders, and custom processing must be paid for upon pick up. The federal record shows slaughter of cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection, custom-exempt processing, and a slaughter volume of under 1,000 head per year, so capacity is small. Booking lead times, drop-off scheduling, minimums, kill fees, and cut and wrap rates are not stated in the sources.

University of Missouri Meat Market reports custom-exempt processing 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 shop sells retail beef and pork by the pound, with published per-pound price lists for steaks, roasts, ground products, offal, ribs, chops, sausages, and bratwurst. The site notes that availability and pricing can vary and asks buyers to call (573) 882-0591 about current stock. Holiday pre-order forms are posted for smoked turkey, smoked ham, green ham, and prime rib, with names taken on waiting lists. The bundles page states that bundle orders are not being accepted and that quarter beef bundles are unavailable at this time, though it describes the contents of a quarter beef bundle and a half hog bundle. Delivery and shipping are not mentioned.

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.