Archer City meat processor gets OK to butcher cattle

An Archer City deer processor began butchering cattle last week for local ranchers who continue to sharply cull their herds over the spiraling cost of feeding their animals in the midst of a drought.

4C Wild Game Processing, a well-known deer processor, now will operate year-round and is offering kill dates for cows, pigs, sheep, and goats starting in mid-January after deer season ends, said owner Jay Cooper. The fees range based on type of animal along with cost per dressed weight for processing, he said.

Mr. Cooper and his wife, Jaclyn, bought the processing facility at 711 N. Center St. (State Highway 79 North) two years ago, along with Lake Kickapoo Fish Camp in Holiday, and are entering their third successful deer season with the help of their kids, Brandon and Zoe, and Mr. Cooper’s father, Bobby Cooper, who taught the younger Cooper men how to kill and process animals.

Jay and Bobby Cooper both worked as meat cutters and market managers in supermarkets and decided to explore the idea of expanding their operation when they began to get calls about slaughtering local cattle for struggling ranchers.

“If I had a calf today …I wouldn’t get a kill date until probably the middle of next year or in the summer - they’re that backed up because everybody’s killing their own cattle,” Bobby Cooper said. “You’ll have $4 to $4.50 a pound in your [cattle] versus paying $8-9 a pound for a ribeye steak or hamburger.”

The Coopers obtained a zoning change from the Archer City Council on Oct. 25 – from a highway business district to industrial zoning – to start operating as a custom-exempt slaughterhouse. “Custom exempt” means that 4C slaughters or processes livestock for the personal use of the owner, not for resale. Mr. Cooper now can process up to 15 pigs or 10 cows per week. 4C must keep a log of people who dropped off animals to ensure they are not missing or stolen, he said.

The permitting process also required 4C to spruce up the 21-year-old slaughterhouse, including refrigerating the cutting room, spray-foaming the interior, adding animal pens and a kill chute, as well as degreasers, sanitizers, and sinks to conform with Texas Custom Exemption requirements.

Texas cattle producers have culled earlier and deeper than normal this year due to drought, according to Texas A&M University System’s AgriLife Extension economist David Anderson.

“It’s clearly bad out there based on the number of culls we’ve seen,” he said. “Drought is forcing the issue. Whether it is zero grazing, low forage stocks, high feed and hay prices, or running low on water, Texas ranchers are facing tough decisions right now.” To schedule a kill date, contact Jay Cooper at (214)766-4826.