Brown Packing Co., Inc.

Brown Packing Co., Inc. operates a cattle slaughter and beef processing plant at 116 Willis Street in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina, under USDA establishment number M1085. The federal record lists FSIS activities of meat slaughter and meat processing, cattle as the species slaughtered under inspection, a small size class, and a grant of inspection date on file of March 24, 2021. The plant's FSIS slaughter volume category is 4.0, well above the smallest category, and no custom-exempt activity is reported to FSIS.

According to the company website, Brown Packing is a family owned and operated beef packing business that buys cows and bulls from stockyards and producers throughout the Southeast and sells finished beef products to major national brands, with distribution across the United States and export abroad. The site describes customers in the frozen foods, fast-food hamburger, and deli meats businesses, and states that Cattle Buyers Weekly has listed the company among the top 20 beef packers in the United States. Related divisions named on the site include Allied Renewal, which manufactures beef tallow and yellow grease, and Organic Alternative Solutions, which produces compost products. Hides are trimmed, salt-treated, and folded on pallets for shipment.

The website states the beef plant is 100 percent USDA inspected with USDA food safety inspectors on site during all hours of production, that it runs a HACCP program, that facilities are audited annually by an independent third-party firm for food safety and animal welfare, and that the beef-packing plant and grinding plant are BRCGS Food Safety certified. Laboratory support is provided by IEH Laboratory and Consulting Group. The company reports a 2019 expansion that nearly doubled the plant in size and added about 200 jobs. Hours for the retail outlet and any terms for individual livestock owners are not stated in the sources on file.

The website states that Brown Packing buys cows and bulls from stockyards and producers throughout the Southeast, and the site lists a cattle procurement page and purchasing contacts, including a purchasing director. This is described as cattle buying rather than fee-based custom processing for the animal's owner, and the federal record reports no custom-exempt activity. Booking procedures, kill dates, slaughter fees, cut and wrap terms, and minimums are not stated in the sources on file. Producers should contact the plant at (864) 489-5723 to confirm current cattle procurement practices, as listed.

Brown Packing Co., Inc. operates under a federal grant of inspection, so product from this plant can be sold anywhere in the United States, which matters if you sell online or across a state line. FSIS does not list a custom-exempt activity for this plant.

The company operates a retail outlet in Gaffney that, per the website, offers commercial-grade cuts of beef in small household quantities or in larger bulk orders, described as low prices and a wide variety of whole beef cuts. Individuals interested in retail purchases are directed to the Retail Outlet rather than the wholesale sales staff. Retail hours, specific cut lists, prices, halves and quarters, online ordering, delivery, and shipping to households are not stated in the sources 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.