Amish farmers open custom meat processing plant in Aroostook

SMYRNA, Maine — It took Conrad Kauffman and Jonas Esch a year and a half to transform a large storage shed into a comprehensive off-the-grid custom meat processing plant at the intersection of both of their Smyrna farms off Route 2.

Moosehead Meats is one of 17 U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved slaughterhouse and processing plants in the state with the next closest a couple hours south, Esch said.

“People from Fort Kent would have to drive all that way,” he said. “Processing is one of the most common missing links found in small farms to be successful.”

Their goal in building and opening Moosehead Meats is to provide a sustainable food culture from the farm to the customer, they said.

“It’s a closed loop, and if COVID-19 ever hits again, we have everything right here,” Esch said. “We are trying to make the food supply as pure as possible while trying to take good care of the land and as stewards of what God has given. “

Kauffman and Esch, who are members of the Smyrna Amish community, passed their USDA inspection in May and their first USDA kill date was June 5.

“Custom processing means that any customer with an animal can come to us and ask us to process it any way he wants,” Kauffman said.

Hunters can bring in their animals to be processed for personal consumption, but not for sale.

USDA has stringent regulations regarding the slaughtering of animals and all meat for sale must meet those rules.

At Moosehead Meats, they process beef, pork, lamb and goat for sale, some of which comes from Esch’s grass fed stock. Much of that meat is then sold at the Back 40 Farm Market , also in Smyrna.

While they do not raise chickens, local farmer Landis Weaver raises the poultry and they process the meat at the facility.

The two men built the elaborate facility mostly by themselves with some help from the Amish community, they said.

And because they do not power their equipment or freezers on the grid, they must be creative in their planning and approach. Some of their power comes from solar and 12 volt batteries, although the large 28-foot-by-14-foot cooler that must cool meat down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit for processing is diesel-powered.

They installed a large wood stove that heats water that is then piped under all the floors to heat and keep them dry. Additionally, attached to the wood stove is a smoker that is used for their applewood smoked ham and bacon, they said.

On Monday morning, they were processing pork and the fat was reserved to make moose meat hamburgers, they said, adding that it makes for a tastier, juicier burger.

Moosehead Meats charges a custom kill fee of $90 for beef and a processing fee to cut and vacuum package at 85 cents a pound hanging weight; pork, $75 kill fee and 75 cents per pound. If it is USDA processed for retail sale, beef is $100 kill fee and $1 a pound processing and pork, an $80 kill fee and $95 cents processing.

Kauffman and Esch talked about the importance of humane treatment of the animals they process and said that because much of their meat comes right from Esch’s farm, he walks them down the path and there is no trailering which adds stress.

Animals must be rendered insensitive to pain and humanely killed, according to USDA regulations.

At Moosehead Meats, the animal is secured in a pen and a captive bolt gun stuns and kills them instantly, Kauffman said.

In addition to the two owners, there are currently two part-time employees and they will add two more later in the season, they said.

Customers can call 207-757-7028 for an appointment or stop by most weekdays with the exception of Thursday.