The Owners
The Nels
Elmarie and Manie Nel, owners of the Clarion Locker, have come a long way to share their amazing meat products with people. When the opportunity for them to re-open the locker in Clarion arose, they did not pass it up.
Since 2009, their main goal at Clarion Locker has been to stick to their family values and work directly with producers in order to optimize the outcome of meat processing. They also have coolers and freezers full of items that customers can purchase!
Since 2009 the Nels have worked hard to update their equipment and expand their growth with automation. This meaning, updating equipment to provide a better and more consistent product to our customers. They started out as a Custom Processing Facility and from there became an Officially Inspected Processing Facility in 2013. In 2020 they expanded their facility from an 8000 sq. ft. to a 16 000 sq. ft facility. With this expansion, they tripled their processing numbers over the years to accommodate more producers and now have the capacity to offer a wider variety to consumers. The Nels are continuously continuing educational courses to expand their meat knowledge and improve their processing procedures.
From brats and burgers for the grill to stockings steaks for your freezer to tasty sticks to grab on the go, the Clarion Locker has tons of meat products ready to buy right now. Over the years, they have won several awards at the Iowa Meat Processors Association’s Convention and Trade Show for their in-house handmade products featuring original recipes.
Located conveniently on Main Street in Clarion, the Clarion Locker is an easy spot to load up on meat if you’re camping at the lake, visiting Clarion for the day, or just passing through. The Nels look forward to seeing you and feeding you.
Clarion Locker's
Awards
- First Place: Award Winning Bratwurst - Iowa State Fair
- Reserve Champion: Ham - Iowa State Fair
- Reserve Grand Champion: Meat Snack Sticks - Iowa Cured Meat Championships
- Champion: Cooked Ring Bologna - Iowa Cured Meat Championships
- Reserve Champion: Jerky Restructured - Iowa Cured Meat Championships
- Champion: Flavored Snack Sticks - Iowa Cured Meat Championships
- Champion: Center Cut Smoked Pork Loin - Iowa Cured Meat Championships
- Reserve Champion: Meat Snack Sticks - Iowa Cured Meat Championships
Clarion Locker Participates in H.U.S.H.
Help Us Stop Hunger
Deer Hunter…
The DNR needs your help to reduce the deer population. Many Iowans need your extra venison and the Food Bank of Iowa will ensure it gets to them. Buy an additional doe license and donate your deer to H.U.S.H. Donate any legally taken deer of any sex from any season.
Official Butcher
State or usda inspected.
We are a state-inspected facility and offer Official/Inspected butchers. We are HACCP certified and work close with our inspectors. This gives you the option of re-selling your product to the public (eg. Farmer’s markets, restaurants, etc.) You have to make sure you schedule and ask for official slaughter. We sell many of our products to restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores in Iowa.
We also participate in the CIS / Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. This program promotes the expansion of business opportunities for state-inspected meat establishments. Under CIS, state-inspected plants can operate as federally-inspected facilities, under specific conditions and ship their products in interstate commerce.
