100% Individual processing

You will receive ALL of the edible portion of the meat that you deliver, and you will ONLY ever receive meat from the animal you deliver (plus any added beef or pork fat that you have ordered). Your meat will never be mixed with or contaminated by any other meat. This extra level of care will add time and decrease general processing efficiency, but is extremely important in ensuring the highest quality end product.

Right to refusal

We have the right to refuse delivery of meat for any reason, including but not limited to: temperature, cleanliness, handling size, limited space or working time, concerns over CWD, and failure to produce a valid hunting license or tag.

Order pickup and shipping

Clients will be notified by phone or text once processing has been completed, and fulfilled orders must be picked up in-person within 3 business days, unless prior arrangements have been made. Frozen storage for completed orders beyond 3 days will be charged at a rate of $10/day for one week, and $20/day beyond. Shipping is currently unavailable. Hunters who live out of state may elect to pay a $150 48-hour rush fee, otherwise it is encouraged they have a local friend pickup their order and ship it directly.

Condition of meat upon arrival

Temperature - Internal temperature of the meat upon arrival is the greatest factor affecting the quality of the end-product. If your animal was harvested more than 2 days prior and has yet to be cooled below 40℉, it is likely to be refused. We guarantee that all meat will be kept sufficiently cold during aging and processing, and we are not responsible for off-flavors resulting from delayed delivery.

Cleanliness - We have the right to refuse any or all portions of meat delivered if it is deemed too dirty or hairy to process in our facility. We cannot jeopardize sanitary conditions, or operate at a financial loss, to fix mistakes made by careless hunters and ranchers. Additional fees beyond the fixed $30 cleaning fee may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Field dressing - We cannot stitch together a hacked up piece of meat. Shot placement and quality of in-field butchery will affect the quantity of edible meat. Respect the animal and maximize its yield by keeping it clean, quartering carefully, and only quartering when necessary. We are not responsible for low yields due to haste in-field.

Cooling and dry aging

Our ability to offer aging is based on space and availability, and we have the right to refuse requested aging to any client for these reasons. For clients who plan to process their own meat at home, cold-storage and dry-aging may be available for $20/day. Dry aging can significantly increase the meat quality of larger/more mature animals; preference will be given to clients in those circumstances, and to those who will be utilizing our processing service. Maximum aging times are 1 week for boneless meat, 3 weeks for quarters, and 4 weeks for whole carcasses.

Grinding services

For home processors that do not own a meat grinder, we will happily grind their clean trimmed meat for burger or sausage. A processing and packaging fee of $2/lb lean weight will be charged, in addition to the costs of added fat and sausage making.

Slaughter services

Homestead & Harvest is a small meat processing facility, not a slaughterhouse. Mobile slaughter services may be available on-site at the client’s location, upon request. Live animal deliveries will be refused in all circumstances.

Bone-in cuts

Clients who have harvested calves or fawns (and deliver the whole carcass) may elect bone-in steak cuts for a flat fee of $100 per animal. Any and all types of bone-in cuts are available, encouraged, and included in the basic processing fee for domestically raised animals.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)

In the instance of cervid wild game, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a serious concern. It has the potential to destroy the hunting tradition in the US if ever it spreads to humans. Our procedures are designed to limit the possibility of spread while still providing an exceptional service. The spinal column will be kept in-tact (as best possible) and properly disposed of, for harvested cervids over 1.5 years of age. Animals suspected to have CWD should not be brought in for processing, and confirmed cases should not be consumed. Clients with concerns over the disease are encouraged to submit lymph-node samples for State testing. Freezing whole quarters is a great way to save on processing costs before results are received. Quarters may be delivered frozen and thawed on site. We are not responsible for loss of meat due to positive CWD tests. Clients are still responsible for picking up and paying in whole for processing that has been completed.