Business Member Profile - Quinn's Meats

A Steep Learning ‘Carve’

By Karen Sample and Janet Morley

Kara Enright and her husband Darold, owners of Enright Cattle Company and Quinn’s Meats Ltd., both grew up on farms in the Tweed, Ontario area. They started their own farm around the corner from Kara’s parents based on a small herd of Black Simmental beef cattle that Kara had begun to build while still in high school. Today they have roughly 60 cows and buy additional weanling stock to finish to meet their customers’ needs year-round.

Thirteen years ago, the Enrights decided to direct market their beef at a farmers’ market and then online. They have not looked back since.

Originally both Enrights worked off farm, but as the business grew, first Kara then Darold transitioned to full time on the farm. As demand for their beef grew and the local abattoir they worked with originally neared capacity, the Enrights realized they would have to get creative in order to ensure their processing volume could be met. As COVID-19 further backlogged processing, they started considering a number of concepts to increase capacity for processing.

Becoming a Processor

By chance, a friend of Kara’s mother drove by Quinn’s Meats in Yarker, about 50 minutes from Tweed, and noticed a for sale sign on the shop. The friend sent a message to Kara’s mother who quickly relayed it to Kara and Darold. The couple recognized this was an opportunity to grow their business and solve their looming processing crisis. As the saying goes, the rest is history.

Not ones to shy away from new challenges and hard work, in 2021 the Enrights entered into negotiations with Quinn’s to purchase the abattoir. Discussions proceeded quickly, a contract was signed and the sale closed approximately four months later. Brian Quinn, retiring owner of Quinn’s Meats wanted to see the Enrights succeed in their new venture and stayed for several months to ease the transition and pass along some of his 46 years of knowledge of the business.

The couple was grateful for the assistance in transitioning as Enright describes taking the reins of the business as “a very steep learning curve.”

Buying their own processing plant has given them the ability to go from farm to fork with control of their own supply chain. From raising and finishing beef animals to processing, packaging and even smoking, the Enrights can do it all themselves. In the end they decided it was the next logical step in their journey from direct marketing their beef in farmers markets, then online, and most recently wholesale.

They agree, however, it is worth it to be able to ensure processing of all their animals as well as continuing to provide service to all the beef, pork and lamb farmers that depended on Quinn’s for processing.

Growth and Employees

The plants’ employee roster has almost doubled to 22 since they purchased Quinn’s, however, Kara confirms skilled labour is a challenge. They still have plant capacity to grow, however the workforce to fill that extra capacity is not yet in place.

Enright says, “It was just trying to find the skilled labour. It’s really difficult to find people that know what they’re doing in the industry like a skilled butcher that can break down carcasses, not just a retail meat cutter. Finding people that know how to work on the kill floor; that is pretty difficult as well.”

In an effort to fill the need for more employees, the Enrights have developed an on-site training program and hired younger, inexperienced people whose values and work ethic matched the Enrights. They used their existing skilled butchers to train the new hires. Says Enright, “The butcher trade doesn’t seem to get passed down to the next generation very well.”

Along with learning how to attract appropriate candidates and provide training, another new challenge for Enright has been learning how to manage so many people. She says going from working on a family farm where most of the employees are your family members to managing employees was an adjustment.

Enright Beef

When asked what makes Enright beef different and special, Enright humbly replies, “I don’t really have any big secrets about our beef. We don’t use any artificial hormones. We’re not putting implants into the cattle. That was something that we quit doing when we started direct marketing because our customers were asking about it, and they were willing to pay a little bit more to cover our extra costs.”

Most of the Enright’s meat sales continue to be done online and are delivered by refrigerated van three days per week. Two drivers put in twelve-hour days to cover clients from Ottawa to the GTA, delivering for a small fee.

Diversified Operations

Running an abattoir and farming beef cattle is quite likely more than most people would care to tackle. Yet that’s not the extent of operations for the Enrights. They also grow all the feed for their cattle, have a blueberry farm, a small on-farm shop and a retail store at Quinn’s. They have already added to the local products sold at the Quinn’s location and are looking forward to expanding the items available at both Quinn’s and the farm shop to include additional produce and artisan items from local vendors.

Currently at Quinn’s, in addition to the meats, cheese and baking the shop has always had, they sell local produce, eggs, maple syrup, chips, nuts and sauces. Some of the additional items to come include more local products. Buns and bread will be next so people can grab everything they need for their BBQ or dinner.

“Customers are happy with the availability and with the fact that the additional products are locally sourced,” says Enright.

Smoked Wings and Ribs

Quinn’s smokers are also getting put to good use preparing wings and ribs on Wednesdays for customers to pick up. With no restaurant close by, the option to pick up different flavours of wings and ribs and just heat them up at home is a handy convenience. Enright says they are looking at doing something similar on another day of the week since Wednesday wings and ribs has been going over so well.

The local economy is an important factor that plays into many of the Enrights’ decisions as evidenced by the support they give to local artisan and food producers through their expanding retail product line.

When asked about goals for the future, Enright said she feels like she and her husband have been in survival mode for the past couple of years. With the steep learning curve that came with buying Quinn’s Meats, they have had their heads down figuring out how to operate. They are only now able to start thinking more about what they might want to change, but they have yet to find enough time to set formal goals.

Enright says they are “Just now getting a handle on how everything runs. We’re now at a spot we can start making and meeting goals. Up to now, it’s been just figuring out what we are doing!”

It Runs in the Family!

The Enrights have two children, Corben, 13, and Evelyn, 8, who are heavily involved with the family farming operation as well as raising their own animals for school projects and profit!

Corben provides substantial help during the summer break, from grass cutting to feeding, fixing fences, raking hay, moving cattle and more. Corben’s COVID project for home schooling was raising 120 meat chickens two years in a row. He sold all of the chickens before processing and was responsible for figuring out all the math and doing the selling and interacting with his customers.

Evelyn likes to help with the cattle and is responsible for bedding pens during calving season, checking calves, feeding and more. Evelyn’s COVID project for home schooling was halter breaking two calves – Hamburger and Holly. “Guess which one was not as cooperative,” Enright jokes! Evelyn persevered and both are now in the herd, tame, friendly and halter broken!

The path the Enrights have chosen is not for everyone and definitely not for the faint of heart. Enright will be the first to tell you that taking on an abattoir when you know nothing about running a processing facility is “a big task.”

This hard-working farm family has succeeded where many would fail while supporting and helping grow their local economy as well as employment. This is no small accomplishment. Stay tuned because there will be much more to come, we have no doubt!

Quinn’s Meats Ltd. Yarker, ON Kara Enright

kara@enrightcattlecompany.com

(613) 377-6430

www.quinnsmeats.com