Albion Locker

Albion Locker is a very small USDA-inspected establishment at 129 W. Church Street in Albion, Boone County, Nebraska, operating under establishment numbers M5622, P5622, and V5622. The FSIS directory lists the plant for meat processing, meat slaughter, and voluntary meat processing, with a grant of inspection date on file of March 25, 2020. Species slaughtered under inspection are reported as cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb, and the slaughter volume category on file is under 1,000 head per year.

The establishment also reports custom-exempt slaughter, meaning it processes animals owned by the customer with packages marked Not for Sale, and it reports retail-exempt sales. The business website, listing the company as Albion Locker LLC, describes beef and pork processing done the way the customer wants it and promotes brats in a range of flavors. A local business listing states that Dustin runs day to day operations of the locker while Jennifer works in the business.

The website invites customers to visit in person during normal business hours and posts an order form and an email sign-up for specials, sales, and events. Pricing, booking lead times, and cut and wrap details beyond what is stated above are not on file.

The plant is listed with FSIS for meat slaughter and meat processing and reports slaughtering cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under inspection, with a reported volume of under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, so producers can have animals they own processed with packages marked Not for Sale. The website states beef and pork are processed the way the customer wants and offers an order form. Booking procedures, scheduling lead times, minimums, and fees are not stated in the sources on file.

Albion Locker 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.

Albion Locker reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS and its website describes itself as a meat locker, meat shop, butcher shop, and meat market, inviting customers to visit in person during normal business hours. Brats in a range of flavors are named as a specialty. The sources do not state whether halves and quarters, bundles, delivery, shipping, or online purchasing are available.

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.