Star Valley Meat Block

Star Valley Meat Block, doing business as The Block, operates at 50 Westwood Lane in Thayne, Lincoln County, Wyoming. The plant holds establishment numbers M47200, P47200 and V47200, with a grant of inspection date on file of May 11, 2022. FSIS lists its activities as meat processing, meat slaughter and poultry processing, and classes the plant as very small. Species slaughtered under inspection, as reported to FSIS, are cattle, hogs, sheep and lamb, and goats. The plant's reported slaughter volume category is under 1,000 head per year. It also reports custom-exempt slaughter, in which animals owned by the customer are processed and packages are marked Not for Sale, and retail-exempt sales.

The business describes itself as Star Valley Meat Block & Cold Storage LLC, a family-owned and operated custom meat market and wild game processing company for western Wyoming. Its site states it is a USDA inspected facility that supports and direct markets local ranch grown meat, and lists a smokehouse used for jerky, sausage, salami, ham, turkeys and bacon, plus a dry ager for prime meats. Listed services are domestic processing, game processing, a rancher-to-consumer program called Home Grown, and restaurant supply. The USDA processing page names beef, pork, lamb and goats; the homepage additionally names bison under custom processing.

On the age of the operation, the sources differ. The site's Our Story page states the Thayne plant was purchased in 2017, when it was primarily a seasonal wild game and custom beef operation, while a Yelp listing for the business states the facility has operated for more than 50 years. Hours of operation are not stated in the sources on file.

The plant reports both USDA-inspected slaughter and custom-exempt slaughter to FSIS, so animals can be harvested for resale under inspection or processed for the owner's own use with packages marked Not for Sale. Posted USDA processing terms include a $300 deposit per beef at drop off, harvest at $125 with a $35 dump fee included, and processing at $1.00 per pound; a $100 deposit per pig, harvest at $80 with a $15 dump fee included, $1.00 per pound processing, and a $20 surcharge for pigs over 400 pounds; and a $50 deposit per lamb or goat with harvest at $50 and processing from $125.00. Vacuum packing instead of double wrap adds $0.30 per pound, patties are $0.25 each double wrapped or $0.55 each vacuum sealed, and hang time beyond 14 days is $25 per day. USDA private label setup is a one-time $50 fee for generic labels, with variable pricing for special statements, and the plant states it helps ranchers direct marketing beef get custom labels approved by USDA. Prices are noted as subject to change without notice. Smokehouse minimums are listed at 40 pounds for snack sticks and cooked sausages, 15 pounds for brats and 5 pounds for Old West jerky. Booking procedures, lead times and scheduling windows are not stated in the sources on file.

Star Valley Meat Block 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 Block sells retail meat through an online store and reports retail-exempt sales to FSIS. Listed offerings include beef shares at $1,200 for a quarter, $2,400 for a half and $4,800 for a whole grain finished beef, along with a Half Hog Freezer Filler at $350 and a Whole Hog Freezer Filler at $700. Monthly payment plans are listed as Beef in the Freezer at $300 per month for 12 months and Piggy in the Bank at $25 per month for 12 months. Individual items include ribeye steak at $60, 60-day dry aged ribeye at $50, bacon at $9.99, jerky and snack sticks at $9.99, and summer sausage from $10.99 to $12.99. Subscription boxes start at $50 and the site states farm fresh eggs and meats are personally delivered to the door. Beef quarters are described as split evenly between front and hind. Shipping outside the delivery area and store hours 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.