Den's Country Meats, Inc.

Den's Country Meats, Inc. operates at 62573 Hwy 4 in Table Rock, Pawnee County, Nebraska, under USDA establishment numbers M21156 and P21156. FSIS lists the plant for meat slaughter, meat processing, poultry slaughter and poultry processing, with a grant of inspection date on file of July 26, 2021. Cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb are reported as species slaughtered under inspection. The plant is classified as Very Small and reports slaughter volume in the under 1,000 head per year category. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The business website describes a family operation begun when Dennis purchased the local locker in Table Rock and opened Den's Locker on October 2, 1985. Dennis and Kim married in 1992 and worked together at the locker beginning in 1993, and Den's Country Meats opened at its current Table Rock location in December 1995. Their daughter and son-in-law, Courtney and Seth Shreve, work as plant managers, with Seth handling slaughter and meat cutting and Courtney handling marketing and inventory management. The site states the business has served customers for 40 years.

The website lists custom processing of beef, pork and deer, cured meats, and fresh retail cuts in the store, plus an online store for jerky and snack sticks. It describes award recognition at state, national and international levels, including medals at the IFFA competition in Frankfurt, Germany, where the site says Den's entered 72 products in 2025 and received 62 gold, 8 silver and 1 bronze medals along with a Cup of Honor and category first places. Dennis and Kim are described as past officers of the Nebraska Association of Meat Processors, with Dennis having served twice as president of the American Association of Meat Processors. Store hours are not stated in the material on file.

The plant reports custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, along with federally inspected slaughter of cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb. The website states that beef appointments are made for each Wednesday of the month and pork appointments for each Monday of the month, and that customers must call 402-839-4635 to set up an appointment. Beef processing is shut down for four weeks in November and December to process venison. Posted prices, which include a 3.5 percent cash discount, are $125 for beef slaughter, $1.25 per pound for processing, and $1.60 per pound for tenderizing; pork is $85 for slaughter, $1.25 per pound for processing, $1.50 per pound for curing, and $1.60 per pound for tenderizing. Cutting instructions are taken by phone as handwritten orders, and downloadable forms are offered. The website says the plant works with trusted producers from its community to purchase live animals, and asks six to eight weeks for a purchase order to be completed. Hauling requirements, drop-off times, and booking lead times beyond the weekly appointment days are not stated.

Den's Country 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.

The website describes fresh retail meat cuts and cured meats sold in the store at Table Rock, plus an online store selling jerky and snack sticks with listed prices such as slab jerky at $7.25, ground and formed jerky at $6.21, individual meat sticks at $2.75, and 16-packs of meat sticks at $36.99. Household buyers can order whole beef, half beef, front quarter, hind quarter, or a half of a half, and whole or half hog, with cuts chosen from the processing sheet; the website notes the plant is USDA inspected and can sell custom processed animals it purchases from local producers on the customer's behalf. Yield examples given are approximately 300 pounds of take-home product from a 1,000 pound beef animal and about 60 percent of a roughly 160 pound hog carcass. A 3.5 percent cash discount applies to listed prices. Shipping and delivery terms 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.