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Did deer processing go up in cost everywhere?

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idsman75

New Member
I took roughly 90 lbs of meat to be processed last year at Thurston Locker in Thurston, NE. I had some salamis and some dried venison sandwich meat made up and had the rest ground up and blended with ground beef. My total cost was roughly $70 and that included close to 20 lbs of ground beef.

I took roughly 60 lbs of meat to the same processor this year. I had some salamis made up and some more of the dried venison sandwich meat and had the rest turned into chops. The price this year was $190.00

The guy who gave me my meat and took my money was a nice fellow but I don't think he ran the show and something told me not to ask questions or complain to him. I won't go into further details out of respect for the gentleman but it wouldn't have been right.

How the heck does the cost of processing nearly TRIPLE from one year to the next. I took them LESS meat and there were LESS extra materials that I had to purchase from them (i.e. 20 lbs of ground beef).

Weird. I just checked my bill and there is a charge at the top called "Slaughter Fee" and it's $140.00. What the heck is a "slaughter Fee"? I brought them a skinned deer--not a live one.
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Sounds like somebody made a quik 140 bucks. The cost at the locker I go to went up to 75 from 65 this year. That was just skinning, cutting and wrapping. They said the cost of paper had gone up three times this year. Don't doubt it a bit.

The 'Bonker
 
It did go up 5%. Never go there!!!

Drive 70 miles north to Lee's meats in Tea SD and get the best in the country and get this, it's your own meat......
 
I would call back and ask them why that charge was on there since you brought in a skinned deer.....what could hurt,you might get refunded...
 
Just a guess, but I have a feeling that the "slaughter fee" is the locker's way of referring to the labor involved in boning, cutting up, grinding, and packaging the meat. $140 still seems a little bit excessive for that work, though.
 
I just got off the phone with the owner. He compared my receipt from last year and my receipt from this year. I took in a deer that was skinned and quartered last year. I took him a deer that was simply skinned but not quartered this year. He charged me (and ADMITTED it!) $100 to QUARTER my deer this year!!!!!!

Grrrr.....looks like I'll be taking my deer to either Alton, IA or Tea, SD. I'm leaning towards Tea because they DO have a legendary reputation.
 
Looks like you learned something. Thanks for sharing it with others. Just another good reason to check this site.
 
I'm on a mission,From field to freezer,all me,started learning by myself last year,waiting for a doe to practice with more this year.NO MORE PROCESSING FEE'S for me. i'm in IL.and just a straight cut-no specialty meats-will cost ya about 100$. too much for me.
 
Geez Louize.........$100 to quarter a deer, that works out to about $6000 per hour for the guy wielding a big knife....rediculous....You could damn near drive it to me for that price, all I'll charge is a bottle of whiskey!!
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Bonker,
Next time bring it over and I will do it for you...Took a my first deer in that way and never again will I pay for someone to skin and bone a deer. Seriously I would be glad to help you.

That way you don't have to drive to Canada...
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Hey Kaare, if I bring up a deer and a bottle of Whiskey can I goose hunt up there...
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Ouch - If anyone needs a deer quartered I'll undercut that $100 and do it for $75.

I cut and wrap all my own - this year my mom gave me one of those FoodSaver Deluxe from Cabelas for my birthday - that really worked well.
 
There is probably more details in that such as price of pork to mix in with the Salami etc. (even though beef fat works great and it is almost free)

Many years ago, I worked in a meat locker so I knew making my own sausage was not rocket science. With less than $200 invested in equipment I’ve been doing my own for years, including burger, roasts, bacon wrapped fillets, jerky, summer sausage, sticks, brats, hot dogs, etc. Over the years, I’ve gotten several other people started doing sausage etc, many of them are now teaching others. Everyone is amazed that you can do this yourself, and you can adjust the spice & fat content to your personal taste. I try to experiment with at least 1 new product every year, this winter it will be dried deer (like chipped beef) & Pepperoni.

It takes time, but I like knowing that I am eating my deer and the $ savings add up. I’d say a conservative estimate is $100 saved per deer by doing it myself. For supplies (freezer wrap, casings, spices etc) my cost is $35 per deer if I do 15lbs of sticks & 30 lbs of sausage & make the loins into steaks. Much less if I skip the sausage. So $100 saved per deer, 2-3 deer per year, that is $2,500 over a 10 year period.

E-mail if you want to know how to get started.

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Hey Limb, you may have trouble getting the deer past customs, just bring the bottle, I can find the honkers!!
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