Locust Grove Farm

Locust Grove Farm, doing business as Locust Grove Smokehouse, is a very small USDA-inspected establishment at 4725 State Route 40 in Argyle, Washington County, New York. It holds establishment numbers M4265, P4265, and V4265, with FSIS activities listed as meat processing, meat slaughter, poultry processing, and voluntary processing and slaughter of meat. The grant of inspection date on file is July 22, 2021. The plant reports cattle and hogs as species slaughtered under inspection, and its slaughter volume category is under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, where animals owned by the customer are returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The website describes a family run meat processing plant, slaughterhouse, smokehouse, and retail country store established in 1973 and run by the Tripp family and friends. The site states the plant has earned the Animal Welfare Approved seal, audited by an independent certifying organization, and that the smokehouse is inspected daily. Note a discrepancy between records: the federal record lists cattle and hogs as slaughter species, while the processing page on the website states the plant no longer slaughters pigs and no longer processes lambs or goats.

Retail offerings listed on the site include smoked meats, fresh beef, pork, and poultry, along with local milk, ice cream, and eggs. Products shown online include whole and half smoked hams, several styles of smoked bacon, smoked pork chops, Canadian bacon, ham steak, and pickled Polish sausage sold by the half gallon and gallon. The site indicates products can be browsed and ordered online.

The website posts beef processing terms: cut and vacuum packed at $1.45 per pound including cutting, wrapping, and freezing, with slaughter and waste removal at $110.00 per animal. An extra fee of $100.00 applies for SRM animals aged 30 months and over and for specialty cuts described as all boneless, small packages, steaks cut in half, NY strip, Delmonico, and flat iron. All ground beef carries a $100.00 extra charge. Six days of hanging is included, with $20.00 per day beyond that. Uninspected beef processing is listed at $1.45 per pound hanging weight with a $75.00 per animal waste removal fee. Extras include farm name on label at $25.00 per process order, patties at $3.00 per pound with a 50 pound minimum, linked sausage at $3.00 per pound with a 50 pound minimum, bulk sausage at $1.75 per pound with a 50 pound minimum, and corned beef at $2.00 per pound. Smoking is $2.75 per pound smoke only or $3.25 per pound smoked, cut, and vacuum packed, and smoking of wild game, fish, or poultry is $5.00 per pound with a $20.00 minimum charge. The site asks for advance notice if a slaughter appointment cannot be kept, requires product pickup within 3 days of phone notification or storage charges of $20.00 per day per pallet apply, requires invoices paid before product leaves the premises, and adds a 3 percent surcharge on credit card payments. The site states the plant no longer slaughters pigs and no longer processes lambs or goats. The about page states the plant serves local farmers for private use and for sale at farmers markets, with the plant's own labels or private labels. Booking procedures beyond the appointment notice are not stated.

Locust Grove Farm 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 retail country store carries the smokehouse products, fresh beef, pork, and poultry, plus local milk, ice cream, and eggs, according to the website. Products can be browsed online through the site's shop, with listed prices including a whole smoked boneless ham at 8 to 10 pounds for $55.50, a whole skinless and shankless smoked ham at 14 to 16 pounds for $79.00, thick sliced smoked bacon at $49.95, and smoked Canadian bacon at $30.99. A 3 percent surcharge is added to credit card payments. Shipping, delivery, and sales of halves or quarters are not addressed in the sources.

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.