When ‘Quality Meats’ is in your name, you’d better have the goods to back it up.

Fortunately for Guthrie County Quality Meats, sourcing and selling the highest quality beef, pork and poultry products is not a problem.

Co-owners Grant Sheeder and Brett Rowley are multigenerational farmers in Guthrie County, near where their shop is located in Guthrie Center.

Sheeder took the early steps into retail meat sales in 2020, when the pandemic and supply-chain breakdowns created empty grocery store shelves. 

His family ran Sheeder Cloverleaf Dairy at the time and offered home delivery of milk from their herd. When his customers were unable to source enough beef or pork to feed their families, Sheeder added meat to his delivery options, along with other essential grocery items.

“We’ve always kept the best interest of the customers in mind,” Sheeder said. 

Since opening their locker two years ago, Sheeder and Rowley have focused not only on quality but also variety.

The shelves are full

In the shop, located in the southwest corner of the processing facility, customers can pick up essentials like a fresh sirloin steak or pork chop, ring bologna, chorizo, brats, beef jerky and bacon, just to name a few. Plus they offer grilling supplies, rubs and marinades, along with select grocery items like cheese and milk.

“We’ve done a lot of experimenting with taste, style and flavors,” Sheeder said of their housemade products. “We’re trying to find ways to make peoples’ lives a little easier with ready-to-eat products without all the preservatives.”

All their meat muscle cuts, both fresh and frozen, are produced in house, using animals sourced mostly in Guthrie County.

“The locker has allowed many producers in our area to add more calves to their feedlots since they know we can help them market them locally,” Sheeder said.

They also provide custom processing for those wishing to buy a quarter, half or whole beef or pork direct from a farmer. And they have a running list at the shop of local farmers willing to sell animals in that way.

Some products, like ground meats used in their beef sticks, come from Upper Iowa Beef in Lime Springs. Upper Iowa Beef is a newer, privately owned company, like Guthrie County Quality Meats, that sources cattle from Midwest farms, mostly in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. This provides Sheeder and Rowley confidence in the product they buy from the processor. 

A large portion of the pork comes from Carstens Livestock, with other local farmers contributing as well.

“Meat is not a cheap investment for people, we know that,” Sheeder said. “It should be treated like it’s gold.”

PICTURED ABOVE: Grant Sheeder shows some of the frozen smoked ham steaks available at Guthrie County Quality Meats. Sheeder said the company has grown over the last two years to include 24 full-time employees and several part-time and seasonal team members. PHOTO / CONRAD SCHMIDT

Processing powerhouse

Guthrie County Quality Meats has quickly become an important economic driver in the region, employing 24 full-time staff and several part-time and seasonal team members.

“We have been very happy with the quality of help we’ve found right here in Guthrie,” Sheeder said, noting that since opening in November 2022, they have had only two full-time staffers leave for jobs closer to home.

Sheeder and Rowley are also at the facility full time, remaining hands-on even as the facility has grown. 

On an average week, the locker can process about 24 head each of beef cattle and pork.

Walk into the shop, and one would never know the amount of work done behind the scenes. The clean, bright and inviting facility doesn’t look or smell anything like lockers of an earlier era.

“Our whole team has bought into this process,” Sheeder said. “They are all here to provide the highest quality product and a smooth and convenient buying experience.”

To learn more about the company or to order, visit gcqualitymeats.com.