Wilson Farm Meats, Inc.

Wilson Farm Meats, Inc. operates at 406 S. Wisconsin Street in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, in Walworth County. The plant reports meat slaughter, meat processing, and poultry processing to USDA FSIS under establishment numbers M34554 and P34554, with a grant of inspection date on file of March 18, 2021. FSIS classifies it as a very small establishment. Cattle and hogs are the species reported slaughtered under inspection, in the lowest FSIS volume category, under 1,000 head per year. The plant also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and the packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The business website states that Scott Wilson purchased the Elkhorn Meat Locker in 2004 and renamed it Wilson Farm Meats, and that pork sold at the Elkhorn store is raised at Wilson Prairie View Farms in Burlington (Spring Prairie), Wisconsin. The site describes the Wilson family as farming since the 1870s, with Scott as the fifth generation, and names his daughter Amber and son in law Justin as general managers. The site says the facility became USDA inspected in 2018, while the grant of inspection date in the federal record is 2021, so the two accounts differ on that date. The website also describes SPF and Clean Start certification for the family hog operation, which applies to the farm rather than to the processing plant.

Services described on the site include custom butchering, processing, and packaging, along with cured and smoked products made in house. Wild game trim is accepted under stated conditions, handled separately from USDA custom processing work. Retail products span pork, beef, poultry, seafood, snacks, and cheese, and the site lists other Wisconsin markets and stores that carry Wilson Farm Meats products.

The website provides downloadable cut sheets for beef and pork and an order sheet for roaster pigs, and states that custom processing covers pork, beef, and wild game. For beef, the site says carcasses hang in the cooler a minimum of 10 days and that pickup runs about two weeks on average, depending on when the animal came in for slaughter and the number of standing custom orders. The site explains cut tradeoffs, for example that bone-in chops mean no baby back ribs or tenderloin, that quarter beef orders require T-bones and porterhouses rather than separate strips and filets, and that only traditional hickory bacon is offered on pig processing orders. Wild game is accepted as trim only, free of hair and bone in clear bags, with no full carcasses, venison batched together, and processing not beginning until after the first of the year because the plant cannot run wild game alongside USDA custom orders. Deposits on wild game orders are refunded if the customer picks up unprocessed meat before processing begins. FSIS lists the plant as reporting custom-exempt slaughter of cattle and hogs. Booking windows, scheduling lead times, minimums, and fees are not stated in the sources.

Wilson Farm Meats, 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 describes a retail store in Elkhorn selling fresh and frozen meats, including pork raised on the family farm in Spring Prairie, plus beef, poultry, seafood, snacks, and cheese. Whole or half beef and whole or half pigs are described as available, along with individual retail cuts. Store hours listed are Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm and Saturday and Sunday 9:00am to 3:00pm, as listed. The site also lists other stores carrying Wilson Farm Meats products in communities including Burlington, Delavan, Waterford, East Troy, Elkhorn, Muskego, Kenosha, Racine, New Berlin, Palmyra, and Milwaukee. Online ordering, shipping, and delivery are not described 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.