There’s something different about knowing exactly where the meat in your freezer came from.
When you purchase an animal directly from an Alaska farmer or rancher, you’re not simply buying meat—you’re purchasing an animal, getting to know the producer who raised it, and having a say in how it is processed.
That’s where Local Butcher comes in.
We help connect Alaska families with local producers and facilitate the process from choosing your animal to coordinating processing and getting your meat home.
Explore available Alaska farmers and ranchers and learn more about the people raising your food.
Select an available quarter, half, or whole animal directly from the participating producer.
The producer sells the animal directly to you.
Once you purchase the animal from the producer, you become the owner.
That ownership is an important part of the custom-processing process.
Depending on the animal and available options, you can choose where your animal will be processed.
This is where you get to make it yours.
Depending on the processor, you may be able to choose:
• Steak thickness
• Bone-in or boneless cuts
• Roast sizes
• Ground meat
• Sausage
• Bacon & ham
• Specialty cuts
• Packaging preferences
Your available options will depend on the animal and processor.
This is what we do best.
Local Butcher helps facilitate communication and logistics between you, the producer, and the processor.
We help make the process easier to understand and coordinate from start to finish.
Once processing is complete, we help coordinate getting your finished meat to you.
You chose the animal.
You chose the cuts.
You know where it came from.
“Custom exempt” is a specific exemption from federal meat inspection requirements for qualifying animals that are slaughtered and processed for their owner’s personal use.
For cattle, sheep, swine, and goats, federal regulations allow qualifying custom slaughter and processing when the animal is delivered by its owner and the resulting meat is exclusively for the owner’s household and other permitted personal uses.
The key is ownership.
Custom-exempt processing is not a way to produce packaged meat for resale.
Custom-exempt products must be identified “NOT FOR SALE.”
The farmer raises the animal.
You purchase the animal directly from the farmer.
You become the owner.
You choose how your animal is processed.
The resulting meat is for your household’s permitted personal use.
Local Butcher helps facilitate the process.
This is one of the most important things to understand.
Custom-exempt meat is different from inspected meat sold at a grocery store or butcher shop.
The custom exemption is based on the owner’s animal and the owner’s use of the resulting meat.
Custom-exempt meat is not for resale and is required to be identified accordingly.
If a producer wants to sell packaged meat commercially, different inspection and regulatory requirements may apply.
Buying an animal directly from a producer for your own household is different from buying packaged meat for resale.
Cattle are one of the most common animals purchased through a custom-processing arrangement.
Depending on the animal and processor, you may receive steaks, roasts, ground beef, and many other cuts.
Pork can be purchased by the whole or portion, with processing options that may include chops, roasts, ground pork, bacon, ham, sausage, and more.
Sheep are included under the federal custom-slaughter framework when the applicable requirements are met.
Goats are also included under the federal custom-slaughter framework.
Poultry is regulated separately from cattle, sheep, swine, and goats.
Federal law contains a separate custom-slaughter exemption for poultry delivered by its owner for the owner’s household and other permitted personal uses.
There are also separate poultry exemptions that may allow certain producers to sell poultry directly to consumers when specific requirements are met.
Poultry does not automatically follow the same rules as beef and pork.
Not every animal raised on a farm or ranch falls under the same rules as cattle, sheep, swine, and goats.
Alaska identifies numerous non-amenable species, including animals such as:
Bison • Elk • Reindeer • Yak • Musk Ox • Rabbit
Different federal and Alaska requirements can apply depending on the species, how it is processed, and how the meat is distributed.
Don’t assume that one exemption applies to every species.
If you’re interested in an animal other than cattle, sheep, swine, goats, or poultry, make sure you understand the requirements that apply to that specific species.
Learn who raised your animal and get to know the people behind your food.
Make processing choices based on what your household actually eats.
You can trace your meat back to the producer and the animal you purchased.
Your purchase directly supports the Alaska farmer or rancher who raised your animal.
A quarter, half, or whole animal can provide your household with a wide variety of cuts for your freezer.
If you’ve never purchased a quarter, half, or whole animal before, the process can feel overwhelming.
How many steaks should I get?
What’s the difference between a chuck roast and a sirloin?
How much ground beef will I end up with?
Should I choose bone-in or boneless?
We’ve got you.
We’re building simple guides to help you understand the different cuts and make processing choices that fit your family.
[PORK CUTS GUIDE]
We’re not the farmer.
We’re not the processor.
We’re the connection point.
Raises your animal.
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Purchase and own the animal.
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Slaughters and processes your animal.
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Facilitates communication, coordination, and logistics.
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Your Alaska-raised meat, ready for your family.
We believe you should be able to know more about the food you feed your family.
Who raised it.
Where it came from.
How it was processed.
And what you’re putting in your freezer.
Local Butcher exists to help make that connection easier.
We’re here to help Alaska families connect directly with the people raising their food—and to make the process of buying an animal, choosing your cuts, and getting it home less complicated.
KNOW YOUR FARMER.
KNOW YOUR MEAT.
KNOW YOUR FOOD.
When you choose a quarter or half beef, you’re purchasing a share of one animal.
You aren’t choosing from a pre-packaged inventory of beef. Your share comes from an actual animal raised by your selected rancher.
Your beef is then processed and cut according to your selections.
You receive approximately ¼ of the animal’s hanging weight.
You receive approximately ½ of the animal’s hanging weight.
You receive the entire animal.
Your final take-home weight will be less than the hanging weight.
That’s completely normal.
Choose the Alaska rancher you’d like to purchase your beef from.
Select a quarter, half, or whole beef.
Once you place your order, you’ll be added to the processing waitlist.
Because every animal and processing schedule is different, we don’t promise an exact turnaround time at checkout.
Within the next few days, we’ll contact you with information about your estimated processing timeline and what to expect next.
When your animal reaches its processing date, it is harvested and prepared for aging and cutting.
You’ll have the opportunity to select how you’d like your beef cut and packaged.
Your beef is processed according to your selections and prepared for your freezer.
Your finished beef is delivered to you.
From the ranch to your freezer — we help you through the process.
When you purchase a beef share, you’re purchasing an animal that still needs to move through the rancher’s and processor’s schedule.
Processing availability can change based on:
For that reason, we don’t want to give you an artificial delivery date that we can’t guarantee.
Instead, once you place your order, you’ll be added to the waitlist and contacted within the next few days.
We’ll provide you with the most current information available about your expected timeline and walk you through the next steps.
The weight listed when you select your beef share is hanging weight — not the amount of packaged meat you’ll take home.
For example:
700 lb whole hanging weight
does not mean you’ll receive 700 lbs of steaks, roasts, and ground beef.
The carcass contains bone, fat, connective tissue, and other components that are removed or reduced during aging and cutting.
A general planning estimate is that approximately 55–65% of hanging weight may become packaged take-home beef, depending on the animal and your processing choices.
Your actual yield will vary.
No.
For a custom-processing arrangement, the consumer purchases the animal directly from the participating producer and becomes the owner.
Local Butcher facilitates the process between the consumer, producer, and processor.
Where available, yes. Processing options depend on the animal, location, processor availability, and applicable requirements.
Yes. Your available cutting and processing choices depend on the animal and processor.
Yes, when a producer offers a quarter-animal purchase.
A half beef is approximately half of an animal’s carcass. Your final take-home weight will be less than the live weight because bones, fat, hide, organs, and other parts are removed during slaughter and processing.
No.
Custom-exempt meat is intended for the owner’s permitted personal and household use and is identified “NOT FOR SALE.”
Custom-exempt processing is exempt from the federal inspection requirements that apply to inspected commercial meat, but custom operations still have applicable sanitation, handling, recordkeeping, and other requirements.
Potentially, but different rules can apply depending on the species and how the meat is processed and distributed.
This page is provided for general educational purposes only and is not legal, regulatory, food-safety, or tax advice.
Meat requirements can vary depending on the species, ownership arrangement, processing facility, location, and intended use or distribution of the meat. Federal and Alaska requirements may also change.
Before purchasing, selling, slaughtering, processing, or distributing meat, producers and consumers should confirm the requirements applicable to their specific situation with the appropriate regulatory agencies.
USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service
Custom Exempt Review Process
9 CFR §303.1
Livestock Inspection Exemptions
9 CFR §381.10
Poultry Inspection Exemptions
Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation
Meat & Meat Products
Find an Alaska-raised animal and start your journey from producer to plate.
907-841-4499
