I have been thinking about buying a processing place and was wandering what you guys expect when you get your deer processed, besides having a clean establishment and making sure that you get the same deer you brought in. what type of prices do you expect to pay when you go to your processor? and how long do you expect to wait on your deer? any input is welcome.

1-I expect the place to be CLEAN and SMELL clean. Not like rotting flesh.
2-I expect to get my meat back.
3-I expect to get it back within 10 days. Two weeks tops.
4-However it's packaged, I expect the outside of the package to be clean and not caked in dried blood.
5-I expect someone to appreciate my business.
6-If the previous 5 things are done, price isn't that big of a deal. I will say though that I've started using a processor that charges by the pound which is a good deal for the customer. No reason for the process fee to be the same for a 95# doe as it is a 200# buck.

ok thanks for your input. how do they charge by the pound? it seems this would be good for mixing all the meat together. but i don't know how easy it would be if you only have a few people working and your processing 20 deer a day and not mixing all the meat together. do you know if the processor you use gives you the same deer back? i was thinking of doing a $50 special if you just want hamburger meat, tenderloins, and back straps. ill do my homework on the price per pound tho.

if the meat was clean and vacuum sealed, you'd get my business

Cleanliness,get back what I took in and get what I ordered.I'm dont push on timeliness because aging is a plus and you never know what those guys run into during the course of a week.

Clean, individual deer processing, competitive price but just as important ...Good products including smoked sausage with jalapenos and cheese.

i agree. I worked at a deer processor last year on my off days. I'm also a butcher at a grocery store. so i know you can't really set a time but i wouldn't want to have a deer for there weeks. Cleanliness is definitely be a top priority. if I've learned anything over the years of being a butcher, if your not clean, people will go elsewhere. and nobody wants to smell rotting flesh while thinking about food.

Mine does a great job with everything and vacum seals. Never heard of one that charges by the pound. How does that work SC...??

[quote=blake824 ok thanks for your input. how do they charge by the pound? it seems this would be good for mixing all the meat together. but i don't know how easy it would be if you only have a few people working and your processing 20 deer a day and not mixing all the meat together. do you know if the processor you use gives you the same deer back? i was thinking of doing a $50 special if you just want hamburger meat, tenderloins, and back straps. ill do my homework on the price per pound tho.[/quote]

They charge a flat fee for gutting/skinning, then charge so much for deboning, per pound then so another fee per pound depending on how you want it processed. My boy killed a 95# doe last season and since the processer is literally 5 miles from where we hunt, if that, we just loaded it up and took it straight there. The processor gutted, skinned and ground it all up into hamburger for $54.00 and some change.

Mine charges by the pound. In fact, he will not clean your deer. You bring him an ice chest of meat and he process it for you. It is very affordable.

i was thinking about having a discount if the deer is already quartered up. it saves a TON of labor cost so it makes since that it would be cheaper. like $45 or so.

I am in my 34th year in the meat business and at anytime you can walk into my meat dept and take a deep breath.You will smell fresh meat and sanitizer.That's it!That is all I want to smell when I carry my meat to a processor.When I started using Highberger grocery for my deer I walked in and smelled clorox.I asked James if I could look underneath his cutting blocks and inside his saws before I left my deer there.I am sure he thought I was a knowitall a$$hole but he was very obliging.After what I saw that day I left my first deer with them and that was 20 years ago.I have never been disappointed .I don't process my own deer for one reason.I see enough meat at work and the whole act of the hunt and harvest should be enjoyable.

1. Clean
2. Clean
3. Clean
4. Honest
Everything else is negotiable.

Ditto plus vacuum sealing is a BIG perk

Vacuum seal and clean!

I'll second that.

I've been taking most of mine to Heiberger Grocery there on Hwy 5 for the past six or seven years, and I've been happy with the timeliness, price, and quality of the product. I get most of mine turned into plain hamburger with nothing added, tenderloin hamburger separately packaged, and an occasional whole pair of backstraps. I hunt about five miles away, and I can drop off a deer and stand there and watch them skin it and walk it right into the cooler. James Stewart (yes that's his real name) is a good guy.

How does a processor not charge by the pound? I've never heard of this. Sausage $3/lb, burger $2/lb etc. I always carry deboned and trimmed.

thanks for all the replies guys. so cleanliness and vacuum sealing is a must. i don't think i will do price per lb because since i am already a butcher I'm going to try to do most of the work myself and i just feel like it would be too much to try to keep up with during the busy months. But ill have a special for quartered up deer and if you get hamburger only($45 or $50) and last but not least ill keep the place spotless. (as much as possible). also im going to have smoked meats and cubed steak.

Of the all the processor's I have used my favorite was one in Greensboro. They had set flat rate based on the dressed weight of the deer that included anything "green"- hamburger, cube steak, stew meat, whole tenderloins.

Smoke items were extra.