Jeffery Wells & Jody Thompson
Wells, Jenkins, Wells Fresh Meats

NOW PROCESSING UNDER USDA INSPECTION.

A Butcher's Story- Grady Wells
The Wells family did just about anything to keep food on the table. The young brothers, Grady and Billy Wells were fortunate to have a farm, a sawmill and a strong will to work. When it came to providing for the big family, “we had young’uns to feed and you did whatever you had to do,” according to Grady. Throughout the 1960s, the family mostly ate off the farm and sawmilled for cash and trade for what they could not grow. Like many rural Americans at that time, the brothers raised and killed the family’s own beef, pork and poultry for sustenance.

Grady was unusually skilled with a knife and did not mind the work of creating food from animals, so he became well known for his on-farm butcher services. People hauled animals from miles around to have them “worked up” in the farm shed under the admiring eye of Grady’s young son Jeffery. “That boy knew how to cut meat before he could read”, Grady remarks.  Butchering on the farm was a good source of income for the Wells but not exactly legal in the eyes of the State of North Carolina. This activity had to be kept kind of quiet, not easy to do when your services are in demand. State inspectors had taken to flying over the Wells Farm periodically to look for tell-tell signs of illegal butcher activity. In order to slaughter hogs, great fires were built to heat water to scald the carcasses. These fires were easily visible by the flyovers and on April 15^th, 1970 the state Meat Inspectors raided the Wells Farm and issued a “cease and desist” order.  As the inspectors left, the Supervisor told the brothers, “unless you want to go to jail, don’t kill another animal here for someone else until you build a plant”. 

Demand for butchering services were great and with “young’uns to feed” the Wells brothers, once again, did what they had to do.  They commenced to building their plant.  They had very little money but owned the sawmill and land. By hand, Grady and his brother cut down the pine trees on a few acres at the corner of the farm, close enough to a road to get trucks in. Using the farm tractor, they pulled stumps and graded the earth until it was flat enough to build. Grady remembers knocking 2 inches of ice off of the same pine logs that winter in order to saw the lumber to build the walls and roof.  While under construction, Grady looked for processing equipment- a cooler and bandsaw were first needed. He found a man who had these items and traded him the family sawmill for their first butcher equipment. By the fall of 1975 the plant was completed and with the blessings of the State of North Carolina, Wells Meat Processing was permitted and in business.

Earl Jenkins passed on in 1992.

Grady’s son Jeffery grew up working with his father and in 1992, he joined the family business as a partner and now serves as Head Meat Cutter and HACCP coordinator. Years of watching his father’s knife work has given him an appreciation for both traditional and new butchery technique.

Jody Thompson married Billy Wells’ daughter, began working at Wells Jenkins in 1990 and joined as a partner in 2006. Jody works closely with farmers to ensure orders are carried out precisely and oversees the daily operations, ensuring high standards for customer service and product quality are met.

Grady Wells retired in August 2011.

The team at Wells Jenkins looks forward to serving more direct marketing local meat producers with expanded products and services in the future. Under consideration are services such as smoked and cured products. Please contact them if you are interested in these and other services.

For 35 years, Wells, Jenkins, Wells Fresh Meats has served their local community with fine service and attention to quality.  Processing under USDA inspection 5 days a week, Wells is ready to work for NC farmers who direct market local, natural, pastured and farm raised meats.

Wells, Jenkins, Wells Fresh Meats
USDA Inspected
Jeffery Wells
Jody Thompson
145 Rollins Road
Forest City, NC 28043
Rutherford County
828-245-5544
wellsjenkins@gmail.com

Species: cattle, goats, sheep, swine, deer
Value Added Products: Breakfast Sausage, Italian Sausage, Bratwurst, Chorizo
Custom labeling available, transparent vaccum pack available