SHORTHORN
BEEF • LOCALLY
RAISED •
A Deeper Dive into Shorthorn Beef - Locally Raised
ESTD 1872
Dreamy 280 Farm Fresh Meats, LLC When did you start your business: We have been direct marketing beef to family and friends since 1989. The official launch of the meat business was in 2012. How did you get started: We (Dennis and Lisa) were raised as local farm kids and purchased our 280 acre farm in Blue Mounds, WI in 1987. It was always our dream to raise our kids on a farm; hence the name – “Dreamy 280”. We have three adult children who are all involved in the family’s cattle and meat business. Our cattle business started as 5 beef cows and over the years it has grown into a herd of 150 head of Shorthorn and Angus beef cattle. Reason behind starting your business: We were searching for ways to generate revenue from the farm other than cattle sales. What your business offers: We have a retail store that is located at our farm. In the farm store we sell all retail beef cuts of our beef. Customers particularly like that they can find cuts of beef in our store that are not readily available in the grocery store. Additionally, we sell pork, pasture raised chicken, eggs, and many, many other products from local producers and farmers. Most, though not all, of the additional products sold in the farm store are Wisconsin products. In the fall, sunflowers raised at Dreamy 280 are sold to eager customers. We also stock a limited number of IPA and lager beers, wines, and distilled liquors specifically made in Wisconsin. In addition to the retail beef cuts Dreamy 280 offers CSA beef shares; quarter, half, whole beef, and seasonal gift baskets. Dreamy 280 provides beef to a restaurant in Madison, WI, a local farm-to-table restaurant, and ground beef for a local school district’s lunch program. Where can your products be purchased: Currently, our beef products are only sold in our farm store. We may soon be expanding sales of some of our beef products to grocery and convenience stores. Did you start as a store front, farmers market attendee or work your way into that: Our beef sales were originally only to family and friends. In 34
shorthorn country = july 2021
2012 Lisa had become frustrated with the cost of seed, fertilizer, and other farm expenses. She thought there had to be a way to find a niche in the farm that could generate income in ways other than cattle sales. She generated an income report from her farm books and the meat sales jumped out at her. She felt confident that there was a way to capitalize on the meat sales for Dreamy 280. This was at the time that CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) were a buzz word in direct market sales. Lisa knew of only one other meat CSA in Wisconsin and felt strongly that launching a meat CSA would be a positive move. Dreamy 280 is conveniently located on a major highway. We hung up a “MEAT CSA” sign by our farm sign, and low and behold customers started calling. The meat CSA flourished, and as time went on people started to pull in the driveway and knock on the door asking to buy meat. It was at that point that the first Dreamy 280 farm store was built and store hours were established. We wanted to build our customer base and felt that farmer’s markets were a good way to do that. We did farmers markets for 5 years. The farmer’s market sales put us at a whole new tipping point, and we again expanded our store hours. The meat business was doing well, we had found our rhythm in meat sales, and then COVID hit! We quickly adapted and became resourceful. For two months we closed the store and only offered drive-up/pick-up for customers. Thankfully, we process beef monthly and always had product replenished and available for customers. For months during COVID we were inundated with orders and sold out of meat. During the time that the store was closed we remodeled a different space in the existing store building for a new store. In June of 2020 we opened the new store space that was larger, safer for customers to shop in, and expanded our product selection. How do you promote your business: Advertising for the meat business has evolved over the years. Initially, we had to beat the bushes to capture sales. As the business has grown word of mouth is one of our best allies. Social media is primarily the only advertising we do. The best advertising is our beef. Once a customer eats it, they always come back, bring a
