I pretty much do it 50/50, when doing hamburger and sliced loin I do it myself, cube steak and sausage I get my local processor to do, he is cheap enough and most of all very clean!!!, he doesnt take any deer in with the guts still in them so you dont have to worry about bacteria getting in your meat and spoiling it causing a nasty taste. If I could learn a good sausage resipe I would buy a smoker and do that myself also. As far as learning it Ive been around it for all my life, just sort of sank in!.