Yellowstone River Beef

Yellowstone River Beef operates at 6 E Dakota Parkway in Williston, Williams County, North Dakota, under FSIS establishment numbers M7644, P7644 and V7644. The federal record lists meat processing, meat slaughter, poultry processing, and voluntary meat slaughter and processing, with a grant of inspection dated March 10, 2003. FSIS classifies the plant as very small and records cattle as the species slaughtered under inspection, with an annual slaughter volume category of under 1,000 head. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, where animals owned by the customer are returned in packages marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The company website describes a USDA certified beef plant owned and operated by two multigenerational agricultural families from western North Dakota, identified as CJ and Calli Thorne and Luke and Courtney Taylor and families. The site states the operation raises cattle on a family ranch and oversees the processing facility, and that it partners with ranchers across North Dakota and Montana for Angus cattle. It cites over 50 years of combined experience in the beef and meat processing industry among its team. The website mentions news coverage including a Nebraska Extension small meat processing management training program and a report that McKenzie County residents became new owners of the Williston meatpacking facility.

The plant handles both custom work for cattle owners and retail sales to households. Although the federal record lists poultry processing activity, the website describes a beef-only operation. Details beyond what is stated on the website and in the federal record are not on file.

The website posts custom beef processing fees of a $150 slaughter fee, a $50 disposal fee, and a processing fee of $1.10 per pound. It states that cattle are typically delivered to the plant on Tuesday and processed on Wednesday, and that the plant gives a reminder call on Monday to customers on the butchering list for that week, with advance notice if the butcher day changes. Custom-exempt work returns meat to the animal's owner in packages marked Not for Sale. FSIS lists cattle as the only species slaughtered under inspection, in a volume category of under 1,000 head per year. Booking procedures, lead times and minimums beyond the Tuesday delivery and Wednesday processing schedule are not stated.

Yellowstone River Beef 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 plant runs a retail store in Williston selling fresh and frozen beef cuts, including briskets, T-bones, flank steak and chuck roasts. Beef can be ordered online for local pickup, with quarter, half and whole beef each listed at $200.00 on the shop page, along with a 10 pound 80/20 ground beef bundle at $75.00, a 10 pound 90/10 ground beef bundle at $85.00, and an 8 pound hamburger patty box at $74.00. Seasoning blends and branded apparel are described as available exclusively in-store. The website does not mention shipping or 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.