meet your
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neighbors Jeff Muldrew and Gayle Schleif provide farm-raised beef to customers by the cut, half or whole. They have recently added Wagyu cattle to their herd.
Back on the Farm By Tina Luann Hart
Gayle Schleif is now a full-time cattle producer, despite her plans to never live on a farm again The ability to supply a quality product to the consumer is the passion behind Hillside Beef in Elkins, Ark., and Gayle Schleif and her fiancé Jeff Muldrew are committed to that goal. “When someone is buying our product, we want them to get exactly what they pay for,” Gayle said. Gayle returned to the farming lifestyle after a long hiatus. She grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota and swore she would never be on a farm again. Life has a funny way of changing things. “The most rewarding thing to me now is just being back on the farm,” she said. Gayle met Jeff 10 and a half years ago, and because of Jeff’s ties to the state, they decided to move to northwest Arkansas. When they moved, Gayle worked a corporate job, and Jeff owns a painting and sandblasting business. They decided to buy some cattle upon moving to Arkansas, which eventually became a custom growing, butchering and retail NOVEMBER 22, 2021
sales operation. Over time, Gayle has and fall. All Hillside Beef products are antransitioned from her corporate life to tibiotic and hormone-free. being a full-time beef producer. Cattle are pasture-fed and those seCurrently, the farm operates on 224 acres, lected for butchering are grain-fed for and they run 50 head of Angus-crossed a minimum of 100 days. Wagyu cattle cows with a Hereford bull. They are also selected for butchering are fed a custom looking at diversifying their operation, ration that includes a higher fat grain to and they have recently acquired three bred produce the finished product. Animals Wagyu cows and a 600-pound steer. The selected to be butchered are either sold on steer will be fed out, butchered, and sold lo- the hoof or sent to a USDA-approved catcally. They have incorporated this special- tle processing facility located in Arkansas. ty niche market into their operation with Hillside Beef provides various bundled the goal to provide the higher fat content beef packages for consumers. They process Wagyu beef to area restaurants. two animals per month, and the beef can Gayle said she “enjoys the mild south- be bought as a half or a whole. Custom ern winters because it is conducive to packages can be created according to what year-round calving.” The breeding pro- the consumer wants or needs. Purchase of gram at Hillside Beef consists of natural individual products is also available. cover for the conventional Gayle believes educating the herd. The Wagyu cows will be public about where their food Elkins, Ark. bred using AI. comes from is very important. The overall health of the an“It is sad people don’t realize imals is tended to as the needs where their food comes from,” arise. Health protocols include she said. “Most people think they scheduled worming and roucan go to A store and that is where tine vaccinations in the spring their food comes from.” Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
Therefore, to help educate the public about farm-raised food, Gayle has applied for a grant that could potentially allow her to supply her beef to public schools in Arkansas. Local farmers markets, Facebook and word of mouth are instrumental to Hillside Beef’s marketing strategy. Gayle attends local farmers markets in the area weekly where she can sell the products to the public. Gayle credits the smalltown atmosphere of the area.“It provides small businesses plenty of opportunities,” she said. Gayle also owns and operates a custom bakery called Cakes With A Kick, she makes 21 different cakes that she markets to adults only because they contain alcohol. She also makes many different types of cookies suitable for all ages. Hillside Beef is located in between Elkins and Goshen, Ark., and operates an on-farm store, which is open to the public at various times on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday.
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