Diller Locker hits busiest time of the year as rifle season arrives
Rifle season is underway in Nebraska, meaning hunters are out-and-about in search of their next deer. The Diller Locker, serves as a big game check station and a processing/butchering plant for harvested deer.
By News Channel NebraskaDILLER - Rifle season is underway in Nebraska, meaning hunters are out-and-about in search of their next deer. It also means longer hours and more business for places such as The Diller Locker, which serves as both a big game check station and a processing/butchering plant for harvested deer.
Jesse Smith is the owner of Diller Locker and has been doing this for six years.
“This time of year we shut down all beef and pork operations and focus primarily on deer,” Smith said.
Smith says the locker sees around 800 deer each season and the 2021 campaign is off to a hot start
“On the skinning side, two days ago was our best day yet... we skinned 135 deer,” Smith said. “And we typically process about 50-60 deer per day.”
With this being one of the busiest times of the year for Diller Locker, staffing always becomes a factor. Since they’re always hiring, and hire seasonal help, staffing fluctuates.
“Hit or miss, we try to bring in seasonal help, we have been short for a few months,” Smith said. “We’re basically always hiring, we’re about 5-10 employees away from where we would like to be.”
In the six years Diller Locker has been a processor, they’ve set a new record for deer processed each season. One thing that helps, is the fact that they’re a Nebraska Games & Parks big game check station. This is where officials examine licenses and tags, gather data about the animals harvested, and deer are sometimes examined for diseases.
“It provides one more layer of convenience for our customers and we’re excited to continue to offer that in the future,” Smith said.
Although the main big game they see is White-Tailed Deer from around the area, The Diller locker processes game from around the country.
“We had our first caribou this year, we do moose, bear, wild hog, elk,” Smith said. “We see some big ones [elk]. 'Muley’s' are always cool to see since they’re not from the area.”
Diller Locker is open from 8:00 AM-8:00 PM, seven days a week, during rifle season.