Harvest House Farms

Harvest House Farms, doing business as JC Lockers and Johnson City Locker Plant, operates at 506 North Nugent Street in Johnson City, Blanco County, Texas. The plant holds federal establishment numbers M21285 and P21285 for meat and poultry, with a grant of inspection dated September 1, 2021. FSIS lists it under Meat Processing and Meat Slaughter activities and classifies it as Very Small. Cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb are reported as species slaughtered under inspection, and the FSIS slaughter volume category is 2.0. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and it reports retail-exempt sales.

The business website, harvesthousemeat.com, uses the name Harvest House Meat Processing and states that the history of the business dates back to 1959 and that Kip and Sandi Thompson began leading it in 1999. The site describes custom beef and pork harvest and processing, fresh beef sold whole, in sides, or in quarters, and fresh pork whole, in sides, or in pieces. It also describes wild game processing for white-tailed deer, axis, fallow, elk, other exotics, and wild hogs, with each animal tagged on arrival and kept separate so customers receive their own meat back. The site's species list for domestic processing includes goats, which are not among the species the plant reports slaughtering under inspection to FSIS.

A retail market is described on the site, with in house smoked bacon, ribeye steaks, and pork chops named as popular items. The site says cutting instruction links and online ordering with shipping are still to come, so those options are described as forthcoming rather than in place. Hours are not stated in the material on file.

The plant reports slaughter of cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under federal inspection to FSIS, and also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which the customer owns the animal and returned packages are marked Not for Sale. The website describes custom beef and pork processing on a you raise it, we will harvest it basis, and states that product can be returned under the producer's own label for the producer or the producer's customers. The site emphasizes keeping each customer's product separate and following specific cutting instructions, and notes that a cutting instruction link is still to be posted. Booking procedures, lead times, minimums, and fees are not stated in the sources on file. Contact the plant at (830) 868-7253 to confirm availability, as listed.

Harvest House Farms 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 retail market at the Johnson City location where customers can buy in house smoked bacon, ribeye steaks, pork chops, smoked items such as jerky, snack sticks, and several flavors of summer sausage, smoked sausage, and dry sausage, plus whole chickens and fresh custom ring sausage. Fresh beef is offered whole, in sides, or in quarters, and fresh pork whole, in sides, or in pieces. The site invites customers to stop in and says to check back for online ordering options to be shipped, so shipping is described as not yet available. Prices, bundle contents, and delivery 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.