Custom Meats of Marathon, Inc.

Custom Meats of Marathon, Inc. operates at 1300 Hwy 107 South in Marathon, Wisconsin, in Marathon County. The plant holds federal establishment numbers M34283, P34283 and V34283, with FSIS activities listed as meat processing, meat slaughter, poultry processing, voluntary processing of meat and voluntary slaughter of meat. The grant of inspection date on file is July 26, 2021. FSIS classifies the establishment as small and reports cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb slaughtered under inspection, with a slaughter volume category of 1, meaning under 1,000 head per year. 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.

The company website states the business was founded in 1989 by Dale Heise after the local meat market in Marathon City closed, and that his son Tom Heise joined about six months later and remains an owner. The site describes the business as locally owned and operated and says staffing has grown from three employees to seventeen. The site states that in 2007 the operation became a USDA-headquartered facility with an inspector stationed in the building and that nothing is cut or processed without an inspector present. Tom Heise is described as a graduate of the Master Meat Crafter Program. The site lists a series of state association sausage and ham competition placings between 2001 and 2017, including the 2010 D.R. Buege Award of Excellence for sausage products, and notes the business chaired the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors in 2011.

The website advertises custom processing of beef, pork and lamb with posted per-pound and per-head fees, sales of beef and pork by the whole, half, front, hind or split half, year-round wild game and venison processing, and gift boxes. The site refers to high-quality chicken, veal, beef, pork and lamb, consistent with the poultry processing activity in the federal record, though poultry slaughter is not among the species FSIS lists as slaughtered under inspection here.

The plant reports slaughter of cattle, hogs, and sheep and lamb under federal inspection, and also reports custom-exempt slaughter for animals owned by the customer, with packages marked Not for Sale. The website posts custom processing fees: beef at $95.00 slaughter plus hide, $0.98 per pound cutting, wrapping and freezing, $1.00 per pound patties, $0.75 per pound cube steak and $0.75 per pound stew meat. Pork is listed at $55.00 slaughter, $0.98 per pound cutting, wrapping and freezing, $0.89 per pound smoking, $0.50 per pound slicing, $2.00 per ham packaging, and various sausage rates, some with a 10 pound minimum, with ground pork included. Lamb is listed at $55.00 slaughter, $0.99 per pound cutting, wrapping and freezing, plus brats and links, with ground lamb included. Cutting instruction sheets are offered for beef, lamb and pork. FSIS lists annual slaughter volume as under 1,000 head. Booking lead times, drop-off days and scheduling policies for livestock are not stated in the sources.

Custom Meats of Marathon, Inc. 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 lists beef and pork sold by the side: beef whole at $5.49, half at $5.59, front at $5.75, hind at $5.99 and split half at $5.69, and pork whole at $2.39 and half at $2.49, with cutting instruction sheets available. The business describes itself as a neighborhood butcher and quality meat market offering chicken, veal, beef, pork and lamb, and sells gift boxes described as a popular option for gifts and raffles. The plant reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS. Online ordering, delivery and shipping are not mentioned 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.