Wayne Mays Meat Processing

Wayne Mays Meat Processing operates at 541 East Main Avenue in Taylorsville, Alexander County, North Carolina, under establishment number M21848+P21848+V21848. The plant does business as Mays Meat Foodservices and Sugargrove Hams. FSIS lists it as a small establishment carrying out meat processing, meat slaughter, poultry processing, voluntary meat processing, and voluntary meat slaughter, with a grant of inspection date on file of February 24, 2022. Species slaughtered under inspection, as reported to FSIS, are cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and reports retail-exempt sales. Its FSIS slaughter volume category is 1.0, meaning under 1,000 head per year.

The company website says the business was started nearly 40 years ago as a custom slaughter house and meat processing company by Wayne Mays and his wife Margie, and is now under the ownership and management of their sons, Jim and Mike Mays, who employ more than 70 people in the Taylorsville area. The site states that Jim takes charge of production and Mike handles sales and marketing. Contact listings name Jimmy Mays as Owner/President, Mike Mays as Owner and Vice President, Adam Mays as Manager/HACCP Coordinator, and two staff members assigned to animal scheduling. The site states that the processing of beef, pork and lamb remains a mainstay of the business, that a custom slaughter house for beef, pork, and lamb is still provided, and that all of its meat is USDA inspected.

Beyond slaughter and processing, the website describes a full retail store and a wholesale food service and distribution business. Mays Meats reports a fleet of 16 refrigerated delivery vehicles, deliveries five days a week within an approximate 150 mile radius of Taylorsville to restaurants and grocery stores, and Saturday hours for restaurant pickups. The wholesale product list covers beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and dry goods and paper items, including a carniceria list aimed at Asian and Hispanic markets. The site also states that Sugar Grove Country Ham has been added to the product mix.

The plant reports slaughter of cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under federal inspection, plus custom-exempt slaughter of animals owned by the customer with packages marked Not for Sale. Its FSIS slaughter volume category is under 1,000 head per year. The website states that Mays Meats still provides a custom slaughter house for beef, pork, and lamb, and its staff list includes two people assigned to animal scheduling, so scheduling is arranged by calling the plant at (828) 632-2034. The website publishes beef, pork, and lamb cutting charts to guide cut selection. Booking lead times, minimums, kill fees, and cut and wrap pricing are not stated in the sources on file.

Wayne Mays Meat Processing 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 a full retail store selling fresh and frozen meat plus dairy, frozen and other grocery products to the public six days a week, and states that meat travels about 30 feet from the processing room to the shelves. Retail specials are posted through the company Facebook page, and customers can text MEATS to 828-499-9304 to receive promotional messages. The sources do not state whether halves and quarters, freezer bundles, online ordering, or shipping to households are offered. Delivery is described as a wholesale service to restaurants and grocery stores within about a 150 mile radius of Taylorsville, not as home delivery.

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.