🌽 Is your meat or poultry from Iowa?
An Iowa package carries one of two inspection marks: a federal USDA/FSIS establishment number or an Iowa state establishment number issued by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau. FAT reads both. Neither mark, on its own, tells you where the animal was raised — and Iowa hosts a very large federal meat industry that processes animals from many states.
Looking for a national brand or large processor? Full Processor Lookup →
Two Iowa inspection marks — and what each one actually means
1. Federally inspected in Iowa (USDA/FSIS)
The USDA/FSIS establishment number on the label (EST. ####, sometimes with an M or P prefix) belongs to a plant located in Iowa. This is a federal fact about where the product was slaughtered or processed under inspection, and the product can be sold anywhere in the country. Iowa has the largest federal meat footprint of any state on this series — it is the top pork-producing state in the country. Major Iowa federal plants include Tyson Fresh Meats (Waterloo, Perry, Storm Lake, Columbus Junction, Council Bluffs), Smithfield Fresh Meats (Denison) and Smithfield Packaged Meats (Sioux City, Mason City, Carroll, Sioux Center), Seaboard Triumph Foods (Sioux City), Iowa Premium (Tama), Swift Pork (Marshalltown, Ottumwa), Hormel Foods (Algona, Knoxville), West Liberty Foods (West Liberty, Mt. Pleasant), and Simply Essentials Poultry (Charles City). The plant location does not mean the animal was born or raised in Iowa — the label’s Country/State-of-origin claim, not the plant location, tells you that.
2. State-inspected in Iowa (IDALS Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau)
The label bears Iowa’s state mark of inspection with a state establishment number licensed by the IDALS Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau. Meat from these plants is inspected under a program the federal government has certified as “at least equal to” federal inspection, but may generally be sold only within Iowa. Iowa is one of the most active states in the federal Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program — a qualifying state plant (generally ≤25 employees) can be selected for CIS and then ship product across state lines under a federal-style mark. IDALS publishes a live directory that flags every CIS-selected plant. Like the federal mark, an Iowa state legend tells you where the product was processed — not where the animal was raised.
Check a federal establishment number
Iowa’s public state-plant directory does not publish plant-to-establishment-number cross-references, so the checker below covers federal Iowa plants only. For a state establishment number, use the live IDALS Meat & Poultry directory or contact the Bureau at 515-281-5321.
Sources: USDA/FSIS establishment directory, mirrored by FAT; Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship — Meat & Poultry directory. · Full Meat Processor Lookup →
Iowa’s federally inspected meat, poultry & egg plants
Iowa hosts the largest federal meat and poultry footprint of any state in this series — on the order of 60+ federally inspected plants, including all four Big-Four packers, national pork operations, integrated turkey processors, and specialty producers. For any specific EST. #### on a package, use FAT’s Meat Processor Lookup. A representative list of the largest and best-known Iowa federal plants:
- Tyson Fresh Meats — Waterloo (pork), Perry (pork), Storm Lake (pork), Columbus Junction (pork), Council Bluffs (beef); plus Tyson Prepared Foods in Waterloo and Council Bluffs
- Smithfield Fresh Meats Corp. — Denison (pork); Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. — Sioux City, Mason City, Carroll, Sioux Center
- Seaboard Triumph Foods — Sioux City (pork, one of the largest US pork plants)
- Iowa Premium, LLC — Tama (beef; part of National Beef / Marfrig)
- Swift Pork Company (JBS USA Pork) — Marshalltown, Ottumwa
- Hormel Foods Corporation — Algona, Knoxville
- West Liberty Foods, LLC — West Liberty, Mt. Pleasant (turkey and further processing)
- Simply Essentials Poultry LLC — Charles City (broiler)
- Kraft Heinz Foods Company — Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Muscatine
- Cargill Kitchen Solutions — Mason City
- Agri Star Meat & Poultry, LLC — Postville (glatt kosher combined plant)
- Iowa Premium Beef / Sioux-Preme Packing / Premium Iowa Pork / American Skin Food Group — multiple Sioux County / Woodbury County pork operations
These are illustrative, not exhaustive. Iowa also hosts many federal cold-storage and further-processing facilities (Americold, Millard, Nor-Am, Cloverleaf, Quality Refrigerated, Crystal Distribution, Sadex). Confirm the specific plant on your label via the Processor Lookup or the live IDALS directory.
Iowa’s state-licensed (state-inspected) plants
The plants below are licensed and inspected by the IDALS Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau under a program certified by USDA as “at least equal to” federal inspection. Their meat can be sold, but generally only within Iowa — unless the plant holds federal CIS status. If your package carries Iowa’s state mark of inspection, the state establishment number matches one of these. IDALS updates its directory in real time; the list below is a compilation snapshot — verify current status through the live IDALS directory.
Plant class codes: 1ACB = state red meat slaughter + processing (with mark of inspection for resale) · 1ASO = state red meat slaughter (retail only, no mark of inspection for resale) · 1B = state red meat processing (no slaughter, mark of inspection for resale) · OP1A = state poultry slaughter + processing (with mark of inspection). Custom-exempt Iowa lockers (class CUST, CUST/EXPY-C, EXPY-C, EXPY-20) carry no state mark of inspection and are not listed below — their product must be marked “Not For Sale.”
Iowa 1ACB — State Red Meat Slaughter + Processing
The plants below slaughter livestock (cattle, hogs, goats, etc.) AND process meat under continuous state inspection with a mark of inspection for further resale within Iowa. Plants flagged “CIS: Yes” can also ship product interstate under a federal-style mark.
| Establishment | Location | County | CIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24:1 Investments, LLC | Atlantic, IA | Cass | — |
| Anita Meat Processing (B&T Meat Processing, LLC) | Anita, IA | Cass | Yes |
| Babcock Locker, Inc. | Alton, IA | Sioux | — |
| B & S Meats Inc. | Farmington, IA | Van Buren | — |
| Bertelsen Beef | Underwood, IA | Pottawattamie | — |
| Bud’s Custom Meats, Inc. | Riverside, IA | Washington | — |
| Charlotte Locker | Charlotte, IA | Clinton | — |
| Clarion Locker | Clarion, IA | Wright | — |
| Corning Meat Processing Service, Inc. | Corning, IA | Adams | — |
| Country Meats, Inc. | Arcadia, IA | Carroll | — |
| Dan’s Locker LLC | Earlville, IA | Delaware | — |
| Dayton Meat Products, Inc. | Malcom, IA | Poweshiek | — |
| Durant Locker | Durant, IA | Cedar | — |
| Edgewood Locker | Edgewood, IA | Clayton | — |
| Elma Locker & Grocery, Inc. | Elma, IA | Howard | — |
| Food Locker Service, Inc. | Holstein, IA | Ida | — |
| Gilbertville Locker | Gilbertville, IA | Black Hawk | — |
| Greiner Locker and Meats, LLC | Packwood, IA | Jefferson | — |
| Henningsen’s Processing Plant, Inc. | Atlantic, IA | Cass | — |
| Ionia Meat Processing LLC | Ionia, IA | Chickasaw | — |
| Iowa Meat Company, Inc. | State Center, IA | Marshall | — |
| Leighton Processed Meats, Inc. | Leighton, IA | Mahaska | — |
| Lewright Meats, Inc. | Eagle Grove, IA | Wright | — |
| Marks Locker | Rowley, IA | Buchanan | — |
| Midwest Packing Co. | Nevada, IA | Story | — |
| Milo Locker, LLC | Milo, IA | Warren | — |
| Minden Custom Meats, Inc. | Minden, IA | Pottawattamie | — |
| Mingo Locker | Mingo, IA | Jasper | — |
| Newhall Locker and Processing | Newhall, IA | Benton | — |
| Old Man’s Creek Meats LLC | Williamsburg, IA | Iowa | — |
| Quillin’s | Waukon, IA | Allamakee | — |
| Riceville Meats, LLC | Riceville, IA | Howard | — |
| Ruzicka’s Meat Processing, Inc. | Solon, IA | Johnson | — |
| S & S Locker LLP | Osage, IA | Mitchell | — |
| Story City Locker LLC | Story City, IA | Story | — |
| Sully Community Locker, Inc. | Sully, IA | Jasper | — |
| Weaver Meats LLC | Afton, IA | Union | — |
| Wholesale Meats & Processing, Inc. | Dyersville, IA | Dubuque | — |
| Winthrop Locker LLC | Winthrop, IA | Buchanan | — |
Iowa 1ASO — State Red Meat Slaughter (Retail Only)
State-inspected slaughter facility whose products are sold at retail on-site only (no mark of inspection for further resale).
| Establishment | Location | County |
|---|---|---|
| Frederika Locker | Frederika, IA | Bremer |
Iowa 1B — State Red Meat Processing (No Slaughter)
Processing-only plants: they do not receive live animals, but they cut, cure, smoke, sausage, or otherwise process inspected meat under a state mark of inspection for further resale within Iowa.
| Establishment | Location | County | CIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al’s Country Meat Locker, LLC | Calmar, IA | Winneshiek | Yes |
| Bordenaro’s Meat Market, LLC | Carroll, IA | Carroll | Yes |
| Boyd’s Sausage Company | Washington, IA | Washington | — |
| Brewer Meats, Inc. | Des Moines, IA | Polk | — |
| Bryant P.O.P., Inc. | West Burlington, IA | Des Moines | — |
| Double Dutch Meat Processing | Pella, IA | Marion | — |
| Forbes Meat & Processing | Harris, IA | Osceola | — |
| Graziano Brothers, Inc. | Des Moines, IA | Polk | — |
| Hancock Frozen Food Center, LLC | Hancock, IA | Pottawattamie | — |
| Hanson Meat Processing & Sales, Inc. | Jesup, IA | Buchanan | — |
| In’t Velds Enterprises Inc. | Pella, IA | Marion | — |
| Kramer Sausage Co., Inc. | La Porte City, IA | Black Hawk | — |
| M & M Convenience Store | Saint Lucas, IA | Fayette | — |
| M & M Convenience Store LLC | Waucoma, IA | Fayette | — |
| Mike’s | Carroll, IA | Carroll | — |
| Northcote Meats Inc. | Melcher, IA | Marion | — |
| Northern Lights Distributing, Inc. | Fort Dodge, IA | Webster | — |
| Ohrt’s Smokehouse LLC | Ionia, IA | Chickasaw | — |
| Orly’s Meat Market & Locker, Inc. | Clarksville, IA | Butler | — |
| Polashek’s Locker Service | Protivin, IA | Howard | — |
| Preston Meats, Inc. | Preston, IA | Jackson | — |
| Ralph’s Old Fashioned Canned Meats | Mason City, IA | Cerro Gordo | — |
| Sawyer’s Meats of Iowa, Inc. | Fort Dodge, IA | Webster | — |
| Sedlacek’s Wholesale Meat Co. | Melbourne, IA | Marshall | — |
| Sister’s Home Style Entrees, Inc. | Humboldt, IA | Humboldt | — |
| Steege’s Meat Market | Cedar Falls, IA | Black Hawk | — |
| Zeb’s Smokehouse | Bedford, IA | Taylor | — |
Iowa OP1A — State Poultry Slaughter + Processing
Iowa has very few state-inspected poultry slaughter plants — most poultry processing in Iowa runs through federally inspected operations (West Liberty Foods, Simply Essentials, Cargill Kitchen Solutions).
| Establishment | Location | County |
|---|---|---|
| Martzahn’s Farm | Greene, IA | Butler |
| Valley View Poultry Processing | Bloomfield, IA | Davis |
Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship — Meat & Poultry directory (live), compiled with historical IDALS records; contact the IDALS Meat and Poultry Inspection Bureau at 515-281-5321 to confirm current plant status. Custom-exempt Iowa lockers are a separate license category — use the live directory and filter to class CUST, CUST/EXPY-C, EXPY-C, or EXPY-20. Their product must be marked “Not For Sale.”
The Iowa rules behind the state inspection mark
| Iowa authority | What it does |
|---|---|
| Iowa Code ch. 189A (Meat and Poultry Inspection Act) | Establishes Iowa’s cooperative inspection program with USDA/FSIS; authorizes IDALS to license, inspect, mark, and enforce. |
| Iowa Code § 189A.3 | License required to slaughter, process, store, or wholesale meat or poultry in Iowa — including custom-exempt lockers, which are separately classed. |
| Iowa Code § 189A.19 & ch. 189A generally | The exemptions: personal-use slaughter, custom-exempt (“Not For Sale”), and the small-flock poultry exemptions (federal P.L. 90-492 under-1,000 birds and the 20,000-bird “EXPY-20” exemption Iowa administers under state class). |
| Iowa Admin. Code (IAC) ch. 21—76 | Adopts the federal meat & poultry regulations (9 CFR 300–500) as Iowa law by reference — the same sanitation, HACCP, and labeling rules that federal plants follow, applied to Iowa state-inspected plants. |
| Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) | Federal program (2008 Farm Bill; implementing regulations 9 CFR 321). Iowa is one of the most active CIS states, with several qualifying plants selected. A CIS-selected plant is inspected by IDALS but its product bears a federal-style mark and can move in interstate commerce. |
| Iowa Code § 137F (Home food establishment / cottage food) | Iowa’s home food establishment framework covers certain low-risk homemade foods for direct sale in-state. Excludes meat and poultry entirely — the cottage food route does not create a legal path to sell uninspected beef, pork, lamb, or bird meat in Iowa. |
Enforcement records: the same transparency gap Montana and Minnesota have
For federally inspected plants, enforcement is public and queryable — recalls, suspensions, and quarterly enforcement reports (see FAT’s Processor Lookup). For state-inspected plants, IDALS is required to run an enforcement system “at least equal to” FSIS — but Iowa, like every state FAT has reviewed, does not publish an equivalent plant-level enforcement database. The noncompliance records exist; they are reachable through Iowa Open Records (Iowa Code ch. 22) requests to IDALS, but not through a live public dashboard. The public window that does exist: FSIS’s annual “at least equal to” review of the Iowa program, published on the FSIS website. A state legend means real inspection; it also means a thinner public paper trail. FAT counts that difference as a transparency fact, the same way it does for Montana and Minnesota.
Why FAT keeps “processed in Iowa” and “raised in Iowa” separate — and why it matters even more here
An establishment number — state or federal — identifies the inspected plant where a product was processed. This distinction matters more in Iowa than in any other state on this series. Iowa is the largest pork-producing state in the country, and its Tyson, Smithfield, Seaboard Triumph, Swift/JBS, and Hormel plants pull hogs from across the Midwest supply basin (see FAT’s Pork Supply Chain maps for the 75-mile drawing radius around each Iowa plant, which extends into Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois). Iowa also processes cattle from a much larger footprint into its Tama beef plant and turkeys from multi-state contract-grower networks into its West Liberty plants. So an Iowa establishment number is solid evidence of processing in Iowa — but the only reliable statement about where the animal was raised is the label’s own Country- or State-of-origin claim (for example “Product of the U.S.A.” or a specific “Raised in Iowa” or “Iowa Family Farm” claim, backed by producer records). FAT reports each fact for what it is and never lets one stand in for the other.
Prepared by Dirk Adams with the assistance of AI.