meet your neighbors
Photos by Rachel Harper
Diversifying to Stay Profitable By Rachel Harper
The Thornburgs source farm-fresh products for their growing customer base
About eight years ago, Dan and Kelli Thornburg and duce. They also offer garden plants, flowers, flowered hanging their children moved from Indiana to Southwest Misbaskets, mums, and have brought in local honey. souri to continue their work in youth ministry. After In addition to plate-and freezer-ready foods, K&D Cattle Comthree years, they decided to push forward toward something pany also sell laying hens. Dan said they have moved around different and started selling beef. Dan’s grandfather was a dairy 8,000 laying hens this year. farmer with three farms in Indiana, so Dan said that is where he “We bring in just about whatever we can find local and offer it got his feet wet in agriculture. to the public," Dan said. "As far as I am aware, we are the only “We started out just raising beef to supply our own freezer and place still offering as much local farm-to-fork products as we do. decided it was just as easy to raise a few more to sell,” Dan said. “Last year, we ran 500 head of live hogs and roughly 75 head They leased about 30 acres in a partnership south of Seneca, of live beef that we sold at the store, but with all the processors Mo., and started running 40 commercial black Angus. Dan had being booked up, we are seeing that number decrease drastically learned about the benefits of rotational grazing through Joel this year." Salatin’s work, and it inspired him to incorporate it with his catThe Thornburgs are expanding in other ways as well. tle as he was doing a small farm-to-fork program. “In 2020, we planted 2,100 pumpkin plants and are looking to “When I first started, I had a lot of guys tell me I was nuts beplant 6,000 this year. Fall has probably become our most profitcause we are in the heart of beef country. They said you are going able time of year now. Going into winter, that is what carries our to be selling to guys that raise their own beef. We get a lot of peooverhead," Dan said. ple who don’t know about raising animals and so they get that Over the course of the last year, they have tried to adapt just to The K&D Cattle Company store hobby farm kind of experience out here.” get through. continues to expand and diversify. Five years ago, Dan and Kelli leased more property south of Jo“The beef market has really saturated in the last five years, but Pictured is K&D Cattle Company plin, Mo., and opened their meat store K&D Cattle Company. this last year, a lot of people started realizing that they need to owner Dan Thornburg. “We opened up with just beef and realized real quick you have know how to grow their own products and raise their own stuff.” to diversify,” Dan said. “Within a month we added pork then “One thing that really amazes people is how much our three processed chicken.” kids do. Natalie (14) runs the store for us, and our twin boys Andrew (11) and Anthony (11) They offer individual cuts, quarters, half and whole processed beef and pork. focus on chores and maintenance with me. They are homeschooled so when they are not “People would comment on the fact that this is how grandpa and grandma did it. Pas- working, they are doing schoolwork,” Dan said. “My wife Kelli works in town but comes ture-raised beef just tastes different than feed lot cattle. We really strive for the grass fed and out afterwards and closes up the store as well as works here every weekend. Without the grass finished, which is much leaner meat. The fat even tastes different on grass-finished help of the family and friends, it’s not possible for the business to have grown the way it beef than what it does grain. The grass-fed is one thing but the finished process is where the has. Two to three times a week I have to be on the road almost all-day bringing product in.” difference really comes in at.” They recently added a sunflower patch where customers can come pick large and small The first year, they ran about 35 butchered beef through their store, using sunflowers. In the fal, from mid-September until October, they offer a petting zoo. Corn local processors. stocks, square straw bales, hay in square and round bales, mums and pumpkins are “We slowly started adding things and I started looking for produce. People also available for purchase. This year they are excited to offer horse cart rides. were wanting garden grown vegetables and I started buying straight from Amish “The community feedback is what has really kept us going. We have a lot of loygroups,” Dan said. “We sell 10 different varieties of Amish-made cheeses from al customers that are thankful they don’t have to go into town for meat when Ohio.” The biggest sellers are habanero, smokey cheddar and horseradish cheese. Joplin, Mo. we are fully stocked. We pull customers from the four-state area and pride ourThey are also a delivery location for locally-sourced Jersey milk, and sell jar selves on the fact that we look for the best quality farm-raised products that goods such as fruits, jams and jellies, pie fillings, relish, pickles and have fresh prowe can offer to the community.”
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Ozarks Farm & Neighbor • www.ozarksfn.com
AUGUST 2, 2021
