What do you look for in a Processor?

[BBond]

Most covered

Been in numerous coolers through the past 20 odd years
Seen conditions from A-Z
some that were shocking and gross

Clean cooler
Concrete floors
adequate drainage system and hosed out periodically through the day
vacuum sealed

Best I've seen
Takes the deer and guts it before ever hanging in Cooler A
Then takes the deer out of Cooler A skins then slides (uses a rail system) into Cooler B
Cooler B is beside Cooler C which is the processing room so each deer is individually processed.
After processed in Cooler C meat is transferred to the Freezer.

No where in the system does meat and hide mix
No where in the system will a deer with guts mix
You will get your deer

It's where I take my deer to and have no worries that: 1) it'll be clean & 2) it's my deer

 

[wm742]

Thank you for all the responses, and please keep them coming.

Clean - got it. My brother in law is a chef and greatly understands cleanliness. He was fired years ago for arguing with another chef on re-dating meat. I'm also one of those people who throw out my microwave every year(those things are so nasty) and it usually looks brand new.
I fill buck tags for hunger donations and people I do business with who want meat. My freezer usually gets a nice yearling for the year. I definitely understand wanting my deer.
Gut barrels with lids. I understand leaving the barrel your filling open, but the other 5 full ones need lids. Same with carcass barrels.

As of right now we have plans for 2 12x12 coolers with a cutting room between the 2. Deer are hung after dressed and capped, skin on, for 5 days.
I know this means we will probably fill up before we ever start cutting, but quality before quantity.
Deer are then skinned, quartered, and moved to cutting room. Cuts are made then placed in a meat lug for final processing.
Once we have 3 meat lugs, we move to the final processing and freezer room. Sausage, cube, vacuum seal, wrap package in butcher paper and place in freezer. Clean equipment between meat lugs, clean carcasses out of cooler, quick wash down and start all over again.
Everything stays clean, everyone gets their deer.

We plan to have a hotline to call and check cooler space where we will actually tell you how many more deer we can take and what time we made the message.

At first we will probably only offer 1 sausage. The chef is working on other recipes, but we would like to have a good response on the plain o'l breakfast sausage before expansion.
Gut fee will be high. Field dressing is not hard. Some people know they don't want to gut and they make haste getting the animal to the processor. Most ride around town for 3 hours showing off their yearling. The latter has ruined it for everyone. Like I said, field dressing is not hard.
There will be a sign, that will be pointed to at every drop off-
"We make every effort to pull as much meat from your deer as possible. 1/4-1/3 of weight before field dressing is normal. Deer have bones, brains, guts, and a hide. All of this has weight. Final yield will depend on shot placement, deer size, caliber of weapon used, as well as how many times you shot it. In other words, it aint our fault. We want your business, but if you don't understand this, please take your deer to someone else."

All gut, cape, sausage, and added fat fees will be taken at drop off. If you ghost us after drop off, you will at least have paid for all that sausage and bacon burger that you thought you wanted.

Cash only
5 day pick up time from 1st notification

There is the plan. My plans always work out sometimes.

 

[Spotlite]

Cleanliness. Proper wrapping of meat when it’s picked up. Their attitude when dropping off and picking up - if they act like it’s a hassle then I’m sure they’re not handling meat with care.

 

[Timberman]

Thank you for all the responses, and please keep them coming.

Clean - got it. My brother in law is a chef and greatly understands cleanliness. He was fired years ago for arguing with another chef on re-dating meat. I'm also one of those people who throw out my microwave every year(those things are so nasty) and it usually looks brand new.
I fill buck tags for hunger donations and people I do business with who want meat. My freezer usually gets a nice yearling for the year. I definitely understand wanting my deer.
Gut barrels with lids. I understand leaving the barrel your filling open, but the other 5 full ones need lids. Same with carcass barrels.

As of right now we have plans for 2 12x12 coolers with a cutting room between the 2. Deer are hung after dressed and capped, skin on, for 5 days.
I know this means we will probably fill up before we ever start cutting, but quality before quantity.
Deer are then skinned, quartered, and moved to cutting room. Cuts are made then placed in a meat lug for final processing.
Once we have 3 meat lugs, we move to the final processing and freezer room. Sausage, cube, vacuum seal, wrap package in butcher paper and place in freezer. Clean equipment between meat lugs, clean carcasses out of cooler, quick wash down and start all over again.
Everything stays clean, everyone gets their deer.

We plan to have a hotline to call and check cooler space where we will actually tell you how many more deer we can take and what time we made the message.

At first we will probably only offer 1 sausage. The chef is working on other recipes, but we would like to have a good response on the plain o'l breakfast sausage before expansion.
Gut fee will be high. Field dressing is not hard. Some people know they don't want to gut and they make haste getting the animal to the processor. Most ride around town for 3 hours showing off their yearling. The latter has ruined it for everyone. Like I said, field dressing is not hard.
There will be a sign, that will be pointed to at every drop off-
"We make every effort to pull as much meat from your deer as possible. 1/4-1/3 of weight before field dressing is normal. Deer have bones, brains, guts, and a hide. All of this has weight. Final yield will depend on shot placement, deer size, caliber of weapon used, as well as how many times you shot it. In other words, it aint our fault. We want your business, but if you don't understand this, please take your deer to someone else."

All gut, cape, sausage, and added fat fees will be taken at drop off. If you ghost us after drop off, you will at least have paid for all that sausage and bacon burger that you thought you wanted.

Cash only
5 day pick up time from 1st notification

There is the plan. My plans always work out sometimes.

You have a good plan. Imo do not deviate for anyone.

I was involved with a processor in SC that did good work and had sizable volume. From that experience I learned no matter how good your work is you will be accused by some of all the issues being brought up in this post.

Done right you will have more business than you can handle. Good luck.

 

[Dustin Pate]

I think you have a solid plan. My thoughts on a couple points. I'd seriously think about adding different payment methods. My local one now does cards and many digital payment methods. It is just a fact that most people are using that type of stuff these days. Adding a small percentage fee can offset your costs.

The upfront fees, other than gutting, may be a little off-putting to some, but I can see why you'd possible want them.

The last thing is the 5 day pickup. You may have some out of town hunters that only come on the weekends to hunt and wouldn't be able to meet that 5 day requirement at times.

 

[wm742]

I think you have a solid plan. My thoughts on a couple points. I'd seriously think about adding different payment methods. My local one now does cards and many digital payment methods. It is just a fact that most people are using that type of stuff these days. Adding a small percentage fee can offset your costs.

The upfront fees, other than gutting, may be a little off-putting to some, but I can see why you'd possible want them.

The last thing is the 5 day pickup. You may have some out of town hunters that only come on the weekends to hunt and wouldn't be able to meet that 5 day requirement at times.

Thank you

We will be cash at first. I want to know this is a good business before I get bogged down with consolidating money and accounting for a bunch of different accounts. No matter what the trend, Cash is king.

The 5 day and upfront fees kind of go together. Venison is a great way to supplement grocery cost through the year. We all work hard for the money we have. We want to know we are getting the most for what we pay. Its not fair if I have to wait to cut someones deer because I've been waiting a month for people to pick up their deer.
In a perfect senerio, I will have had your deer 2 weeks if you pick it up on the final day. The timing on that could make or break a processor during rut.
The 5 day rule is a quality rule. Deer don't need to hang for a month before processing.
As with the up front fees, its also a "kids need shoe's" thing. Its not just spices that you are paying for, but the extra time it takes to make sausage, or to grind an entire deer and add fat. The time it takes to make 8 lbs of sausage equates to pulling 2-3 skins, quartering, and prepping for final process and package.

From the research I've done. You want to make your processor happy. Drop off a lot of deer and only get basic cuts with nothing added. Then pick your deer up within a few days of when he finishes. He will love you way more than the guy that brings him 1 huge 5 year old deer and wants the whole thing ground for sausage and bacon burger.

 

[antharper]

Good luck with your business ! After reading everyone’s responses I’m sure glad I make the time and enjoy doing my own .

 

[notnksnemor]

Freezer!!!!!
Freezer costs a lot more to run than a cooler.
Assuming you are going to freeze after packaging, how much freezer space do you need to hold orders until they get picked up?

 

[kmckinnie]

Freezer!!!!!
Freezer costs a lot more to run than a cooler.
Assuming you are going to freeze after packaging, how much freezer space do you need to hold orders until they get picked up?

Freezer with cubicles to hold each deer when wrapped. Need lots of them.

 

[Mackie889]

Something small that my current processor does that is a great example of customer service. They have a garden hose where people drop off their deer. They rinse any blood out of the back of your truck. I think that a 5 day policy for pickup is a good idea … just when an out-of-stater calls and explains that they can’t get there in the 5 days, make an exception to that rule. That’s what my processor does. Other than that I agree w/ the already stated above. Good luck!

 

[specialk]

1. clean
2. easy to find and convenient to access
3. reasonable prices for standard cuts (burger cubed etc)
4. I dont want it to smell like rotting guts when I arrive
5. I want my meat not someone elses
6. A quick/orderly way to take my deer and my information and what I want done with the deer
7. vacuum sealed meat
8. ample cooler space
9. a friendly greeting when I arrive to show that they appreciate my business (I have used processors that seem like they are doing you a favor and are downright rude. I use them once)
10. id prefer just a few sausage options if you can do them all equally well.

my processor for the past 30yrs does all 10 of those things....also gives free hats to the first 100 hunters checking in a deer(exclusive club...lol..)....if a drop a deer off sat or sunday i can pick it up the following sat or sunday.....

 

[wm742]

Freezer!!!!!
Freezer costs a lot more to run than a cooler.
Assuming you are going to freeze after packaging, how much freezer space do you need to hold orders until they get picked up?

We should have freezer space for 1 turn around, which means when we are mid season full, some one has to pick up a deer before we can take one. Of course with a little head room.
We will see how it goes, but I hope that we have a system set up to send updates on where we are in the process. You can get a free number from google that lets you send mass text from your computer and the interface is like gmail. The idea is that there is no reason for anyone not to know when their deer will be ready, and then if they can be honest with us, and the reason makes sense, rules are meant to be broken, with in reason.

With only 2 of us there during peak hours, washing trucks will be hard. A self serve wash may work.
I personally clean the bed of my truck out before I go to the processor. There is a Tidal Wave on the other side of I-20. I pass it on the way. I have a membership, so I just run through real quick and that's usually good enough until the post weekend detail.

 

[ucfireman]

Sounds like a great plan,
I don't know how many deer you are thinking you will be able to do in a season. I know most guys have to turn folks away either because of lack of space (cooler or freezer) or not being able to get the help.
5 days hanging and 2 12x12 coolers I think you are going to fill up real fast.
Maybe plan on expanding the next year if all goes well.

The guy I have dealt with debones everything, said he doesn't want someone getting cut in the band saw.

No one's mentioned the County stuff.
License?, Are you allowed to do it your property or do you need a separate location? Insurance for you and staff and people coming onto your property?
If you have property that is in CUVA will this void that?

Good Luck and keep us all informed with how its going.
I would even be interested in a thread about your progress. And steps taken to get up and running.

 

[wm742]

Sounds like a great plan,
I don't know how many deer you are thinking you will be able to do in a season. I know most guys have to turn folks away either because of lack of space (cooler or freezer) or not being able to get the help.
5 days hanging and 2 12x12 coolers I think you are going to fill up real fast.
Maybe plan on expanding the next year if all goes well.

The guy I have dealt with debones everything, said he doesn't want someone getting cut in the band saw.

No one's mentioned the County stuff.
License?, Are you allowed to do it your property or do you need a separate location? Insurance for you and staff and people coming onto your property?
If you have property that is in CUVA will this void that?

Good Luck and keep us all informed with how its going.
I would even be interested in a thread about your progress. And steps taken to get up and running.

There are a couple of hoops we have to jump through, but it has to do with the property being under the conservation act. It was originally a dairy operation, but the rancher just does beef now. There hasn't been a cow ran through it in a decade.
Besides that, we just have to have a wild game storage permit from DNR. I think pigs require some more scrutiny, but we don't want to do pigs.

The dairy barn is across the street from where I hunt. Its my Brother in laws family land. His oldest likes to hunt every couple years and wants to come out Sunday. After the hunt we plan to look at how to lay everything out while not removing any of the dairy stuff. We will have about a 75 x 20 foot hallway to build in. Block walls, wood truss, metal roof, poured floor, big trough drains.
I can throw a cooler up in less than a week when the building is there already. There should be enough room for a 3rd cooler.

We currently have about 4 24 cubic inch chest freezers and a couple of smaller ones. I'm hoping by our second year to have a walk in freezer.

 

[krizia829]

CLEAN
Welcoming / Friendly
Affordable
Gives you your actual meat, not someone else's
Willing to teach kids the basics after shooting their first deer (time permitting)

Would also be cool to host a hunter gathering like a big BBQ at the end of the season to celebrate everyone's success and as an appreciation for the business and have a great time sharing stories

 

[furtaker]

One thing people don't understand is on a well placed shot, you only get 1/3 of the live weight back in processed meet. I have personally weighed yearlings, does and bucks of all different weights and it holds true regardless.

I killed a 180lb deer and should get back 150lbs of meat. Oh no you won't.

Yep. Most rednecks think the 80 pound doe they blasted through the shoulders with a 7RM is supposed to yield 100 pounds of meat.

 

[elfiii]

Good luck with your business ! After reading everyone’s responses I’m sure glad I make the time and enjoy doing my own .

Me too.

 

[Blackston]

Something small that my current processor does that is a great example of customer service. They have a garden hose where people drop off their deer. They rinse any blood out of the back of your truck. I think that a 5 day policy for pickup is a good idea … just when an out-of-stater calls and explains that they can’t get there in the 5 days, make an exception to that rule. That’s what my processor does. Other than that I agree w/ the already stated above. Good luck!

Can’t beat Deans !!

 

[KKrueger]

This is a good time of the year to take a drive each week and stop in at a few processors during some off peak hours just to get some ideas.

If you go outside of your area where you won't be competing with them they may even tell you some trade secrets.

 

[chrislibby88]

One thing people don't understand is on a well placed shot, you only get 1/3 of the live weight back in processed meet. I have personally weighed yearlings, does and bucks of all different weights and it holds true regardless.

I killed a 180lb deer and should get back 150lbs of meat. Oh no you won't.

And you lose a lot of weight if dry aged properly. The meat dehydrates some, and they should be trimming that dry rind from the exterior of the meat and any silver skin and connective tissue. You’ll obviously get slightly more weight back for full grind or sausage as they add up to 40% fat, and sometimes water to the grind.

Some folks blow my mind complaining about the weight that comes back.