Diamond D Processing, a custom meat processing plant owned by Dick and Dixie Lee, opened its doors for business in August 2002. What started out as a small family business ran by Dick and niece Jody Gardner, has grown to having four full-time employees and the occasional part-time help. Dick and Dixies daughter Jessie Schmitt has been employed for eight years and plans to take over the business when Dick Lee decides to retire. The other employees are Cliff Springmeyer, Destri Lockhart and Jason McClain. While Jason is new to the business Cliff and Destri have both been with the business for several years.
The first few years of business consisted of not only domestic animals but a lot of wild game. As the business grew the trials of doing beef, hogs and sheep during the day and then having to hire a night crew to do wild game became too much so Dick Lee decided to focus more on the local repeat farmers and ranchers that are the bread and butter of the business.
The wild game that Dimaond D still does is for the veterans hunt that is put on every year by the NRA and Colorado Hunting Expeditions. Processing is donating for the veterans who participate in that hunt.
Processing is also donated to the Cattlemans Association banquet and the Kiwanis Clubs charity night for silent auction. Wild game processing of a deer and elk is donated to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Wild Turkey Federation. Diamond D also donates the processing of the hog that the Montezuma County Fair Board raffles off at the Jr. Livestock sale and the processing of the buffalo hunt that the Pleasant View Fire Department raffles off every year.
Besides the normal custom processing Dick Lee also makes jerky, summer sausage, bologna, brats and pepperoni sticks. Curing and smoking is also done in house at Diamond D.
Diamond D is a state-inspected facility and as a state inspected facility, Diamond D is not allowed to sell meat but they can recommend several local ranchers for residents looking for meat.
Diamond D has its own slaughtering facility so animals are brought in by their owners the evening before they are scheduled to be slaughtered.
Dick and Dixie ran a custom processing plant when they lived in Montana and the busines had a mobile slaughtering unit there and it was very popular and Dick is hoping it will do the same here.The plan is for this to begin in early 2013.
What started out as local business has grown to customers from Durango, Bayfield, Monticello, Blanding, Norwood, Nucla, Ridgway and New Mexico.
Diamond D is located at 22003 Road Y in Yellow Jacket (1 mile west of the Yellow Jacket Post Office) and the phone number is 970-562-4224.
