Meats Lab

The Meats Laboratory is a meat processing facility, operating under federal inspection, which serves multiple purposes within the College of Agriculture and the University Farm.

Meat Sales

The Meat Lab is now open!  We are excited to welcome you during our regular business hours.

• Thursday and Friday:  8 AM to 5 PM
• Closed Holidays

We are located on the north end of the University Farm at 311 Nicholas C Shouten Ln, Chico, CA 95928.

Please call 530-898-6028 or visit our Facebook page for information. Please call for questions or to discuss larger orders (100 lbs. or more).  We do have some select cuts also available at the new University Farm Store.  

Hands-On Meat Industry Training

The first priority of the Meats Lab is to serve as an educational facility, where students can gain knowledge of multiple facets of the meat industry through hands on experience by producing a quality and safe product. Livestock animals raised by other units at the University Farm for educational purposes are purchased by the Meats Lab to be harvested, processed, and sold by students under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture and a staff meats technician.

Students participate in production through labs, internships, and employment at the Meats Lab. As employees of the Meats Lab, students may graduate with not only a degree but a strong resume, demonstrating skills and knowledge of the meat industry, marketing, customer service, and federal food safety regulations. This experience will help to make students more desirable to employers as they enter the workforce.

The products created and sold at the Meats Lab include a large variety of retail cuts of beef, pork, and lamb, as well as value added products such as sausage, cured meats, and beef jerky. Products of the University Farm are also sold wholesale to a number of local restaurants, and large orders are available for events.

We thank you for supporting the College of Agriculture by shopping locally at the Meats Lab.