24 minute read
A Deeper Dive into Shorthorn Beef - Locally Raised
SHORTHORN BEEF
• LOCALLY RAISED •
ESTD 1872
A Deeper Dive into Shorthorn Beef - Locally Raised
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 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
friend with them, or tell their family and friends about Dreamy 280 beef.
Overall growth of business:
We have grown from raising and processing a handful of steers a year to currently 50 per year.
What makes “Shorthorn” Beef special to you/your business:
We feel that Shorthorn beef can stack up against other major breeds and brands. The Shorthorn beef that we raise, process, and sell in our store equals in all aspects to that of other breeds of beef. Under a taste test we feel confident that if served a Shorthorn steak vs. another breed of beef steak that a customer would find it to be equally superior to other breeds of beef.
There are 3 main reasons why people purchase our beef. 1) They like the beef and find it to be superior to beef they have purchased in other stores. 2) They want to know where their food is coming from. 3) They want to support a local farmer.
Advice for others to get started:
1. Set goals and be willing to adjust the goals; either by backing up the objective or moving it further forward. Be willing to make changes in your business and product if needed. 2. Don’t be swayed by trendy gimmicks or influenced by hype. 3. Your focus should be on your product and your business. Know your product, stay true to what works for you and do it well. 4. Pay attention to your customers, trends in advertising, and be aware of your market place. 5. Be willing to educate the public and your customers. Only =you can tell your story. Don’t let someone else do it for you.
Dreamy 280 Dennis and Lisa Schlimgen & Family 2792 Cave of the Mounds Road, Blue Mounds, WI 53517 www.Dreamy280.com Dreamy280@gmail.com 608-576-1313 Lisa • 608-575-6848 Dennis
When did you start your business:
Esselburn Grain & Cattle was started in 1986. This year we started marketing as Big Prairie Beef.
How did you get started:
Tom & Kelly purchased the farm in 1986, where we still live and operate the feedlot/confinement calving. We have purchased three other contiguous farms, which helps us grow feed for the cows and feeders as well as providing permanent pasture and rotational grazing in adjoining fields by using movable fencing.
Reason behind starting your business:
When Tom & Kelly purchased the farm in 1986, it was set up as a dairy. That wasn’t an option for us because Tom worked off the farm and Kelly was home with 2 small children, so the facilities were converted to feed beef cattle. The first year we learned a lot! We found out that beef cattle were shorter that dairy cows and that meant we had to build a curb so they could reach the bunk to eat at the feedlot. We discovered too that beef steers off the hills of southern Ohio were nothing like the temperament of the dairy cattle we both grew up with and that you couldn’t just walk them into a head chute we had rented from our local veterinarian to work them; so we purchased a tub and alley because we figured that would be cheaper than alimony. Through the years, our five children were raised here and all worked in various modes on the farm. In 2003, we purchased an additional farm with rolling hills that were not suitable to safely plant corn, wheat, or soybeans, so we began running a cow herd. We started with 18 cows, and over time, began to shift our focus from buying semi loads of feeders at online auctions to raising our own cattle.
We have always sold about 10 or 15 head of beef for freezer beef per year to friends and family, selling the rest at the local auction, but COVID-19 dramatically changed the way we market our beef! In March 2020 we were getting ready to ship our first
cattle, but our contact told us, “don’t bring cattle, there are no buyers here”. At that moment we contacted our local processor and started booking beef for harvest. We knew it would take a lot of extra work to find the buyers for our 50 head of cattle, but we had no choice but trying to make it work. We began to find out that people were afraid of where they were going to find food since store freezers were empty, but also that buying patterns were changing. People really enjoy knowing where their food is raised, and having a relationship with the farmer doing the work. By the grace of God, we sold all 50 animals to private buyers. We were shocked, and realized that this was changing our business model for good.
Part of adapting to this new way of doing business was developing a website to focus on the “Farm to Table” philosophy and increase exposure to our farm story. Additionally, this is when the Big Prairie Beef brand was born. We’ve also realized that not everyone can store the quantity of meat in the way we sell it (currently as a quarter, half, or whole beef), so we’re exploring smaller bundles to make buying directly from our farm easier and more manageable for more consumers.
This is all new territory for us, and through this development our adult children have another avenue to get more involved with the farm business. In the meantime we have 60 head of cattle to market this year and all are scheduled with several area butchers. We hope to keep those spots but know that if we can’t get them all sold as freezer beef we can still move them through the sale barn. We are also exploring farmers market, direct sales with stores, or other creative avenues have been discussed to move 100% of our product.
What your business offers:
As mentioned above, when we started in 1986, we bought to semi loads of 600-800 pound cattle, most were black hided, but we did have other breeds as well. We ran strictly feedlot cattle finishing, approximately 150-200 head every six to eight months, until we started with the registered Shorthorns in 2008. We began to decrease the number of purchased feedlot cattle we ran because now we had a cow herd to manage as well. In addition to our registered Shorthorn and Shorthorn Plus cows, many of them are Angus or Simmental crossbred, since we find the hybrid vigor is a positive thing! Freezer beef selling by the quarter increased through the years to where we were selling up to 20 head per year, the balance of the cattle raised went through United Producers Inc. This was all accomplished by just loving to talk about what we do!
Where can your products be purchased:
Right now we are utilizing our newly refreshed website: We can take orders there for beef selling under the Big Prairie Beef Logo. We still relying heavily on past customers as our base. We offer a great product at a reasonable price, that our customers appreciate. It is still the same quality high choice and prime beef that we have always produced.
Did you start as a store front, farmers market attendee or work your way into that:
We started just selling what we have always done, in a quarter, half or whole beef. Today consumers want to know where and how their beef is produced. Getting smaller has made it possible for us to do that! We have complete records of all animals produced here from assisted births, BW, WW, YW to any sickness, vaccination or other treatments. This makes trending consumer keywords like “Traceability” and “Locally Born and Raised” important to us.
We’ve planned to have most of our early calves born in confinement housing, especially those born in February or March, to give us the best ability to assure them a clean and healthy start. We can easily and safely move any cow having difficulty into a pen to assist her with delivery. The calves are born unafraid of people because we are with them all the time and they love their nursery area, where just the calves can hangout, until they run back to momma for another drink of milk! Calves are raised from birth until weaning on grass (or hay) on the pasture until they are weaned. They return to the barns where they were born and are fed corn silage (at our feedlot location) and eventually finished on a higher grain diet giving them the wonderful marbling for the great flavor our customers have grown accustom to.
How do you promote your business:
Website is new/fliers/ads in local papers and social media! We have the farm website, plus our own Facebook and Instagram pages that we talk about what we do on the farm. I think when we are given the chance to talk with people about our cattle; they sense we are passionate about what we do!
Overall growth of business:
This new method of marketing last year brought great success, I think. We sold all our beef “Our Farm to Your Table! That was the beginning to our new goal.
What makes “Shorthorn” Beef special to you/your business:
We have over 50% of the herd that is shorthorn or shorthorn influence. You can’t beat the maternal instincts of our shorthorn mommas. We only had one shorthorn calf we had to pull this year, so we do try to watch to use sires that are calving ease sires. It’s best when they can just lie down and have the calf and get up and immediately start mothering them, even on the first calf heifers. So many of our shorthorns were shown, or have been around for us to build our herd on, which means we know their temperaments and almost all on a first name basis. We know who is a little moody when she calves (and to move slowly or stay out of the pen for a couple hours) and we know who is going to finish the heaviest calf! I have stressed for years that CAB has done a tremendous job marketing their breed and we do have a lot of Angus influence in our herd as well! BUT...we maintain once you get that hide off and you are just looking at the high quality carcass in the cooler our shorthorns have always done remarkably well.
Advice for others to get started:
Share your story! Figure out what you are capable of doing and do it! If you are producing a quality product tell people about it! Our whole family loves to share what it is that we do with our beef to anyone who will listen. We aren’t all organic, or GMO free, BUT we believe in our product and love what we do! We think that’s the best story anyone could share. =
Esselburn Grain & Cattle Farm - Big Prairie Beef Tom Esselburn & Family Shreve, Ohio www.bigprairiebeef.com bigprairiebeef@gmail.com • 330-201-1345
When did you start your business:
Muddy Water Farm Shorthorns was established in 2007, Beef and Blossoms in June 2020.
How did you get started:
Located in the foothills and valleys of the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, is the home of a business named Beef and Blossoms; owned by Lisa and Sarah Lay. Launched in June of 2020, offering mini bundt cakes, cut flowers and USDA inspected cuts of beef. This mother-daughter duo offers a wide variety of mini bundt cakes ranging from traditional Lemon to Maple Bacon infused with Tennessee Moonshine. Retail meat offering includes individual cuts, bundles and packages of Shorthorn influenced beef.
Our love of Shorthorn cattle began when our oldest son wanted to start showing beef cattle in 4-H, like many farm families can understand, sometimes these 4-H projects grow! As the kids were growing and showing so were the number of animals. While developing show calves for ourselves and for others through direct sales, we were always disappointed with the price discounted at the sale barn with the ones that did not make the cut because of hide color. An alternative market was sorely needed.
Direct marketing of harvest ready live animals was slow. Consumers wanted our product, but could not handle that much volume at one time. The retail meat permit helped with this.
Social media and word of mouth are the primary source of advertising for attracting consumers. Being visible at events and markets with banners and having an attractive display is helpful. Sharing our farm and family story to connect with people is a major ingredient for success in retaining repeat customers. Customers are always commenting on our logo, saying it is such a pretty cow and we get to share with them that our logo is actually one of our cows, Barley, who is one of Sarah’s farm raised show heifers. You have to make a personal connection with the consumer to grow your loyal customer base; it is what keeps brining them back to buy your product.
Beef and Blossoms by Muddy Water Farm is the source for the Ultimate Date Night: Dinner, Dessert and Flowers.
Life is Short - Eat the Cake.
Reason behind starting your business:
We sold our dairy cow enterprise and expanded beef operations to include direct sales of USDA cuts of beef. I also love to bake so Mini Bundt Cakes seemed to offer something different at market and people do love sweets.
What your business offers:
We offer USDA cuts of beef, Mini Bundt Cakes and fresh cut flowers.
Where can your products be purchased:
As mentioned above, our products can be purchased at local farmers markets, pop up shops, special events, festivals and directly off the farm sales.
Did you start as a store front, farmers market attendee or work your way into that:
We got our start setting up at farmers markets. We have expanded into doing regular pop up shops, special events, festivals and directly off the farm sales.
How do you promote your business:
We promote our business by advertising on social media, word of mouth, our customers sharing our page on Facebook , the Pick Tennessee Product page and American Shorthorn Beef Directory. We also display our beef banners at events where we do not have beef available that day (craft fairs, etc.)
Overall growth of business:
We are adding more events and markets this year, which provides us with more brand awareness and marketing opportunities. We are building our customer base and are seeing an increase in the demand for our products. I have no plans for brick and mortar; I enjoy the markets and events.
What makes “Shorthorn” Beef special to you/your business:
Shorthorn cattle have many outstanding genetic and docility traits, that we love to work with them. When we open a cooler for a customer to see our product, there is always a comment of how pretty the beef is. What they don’t see is how pretty the beef was standing in the field!
Advice for others to get started:
Find YOUR market, your market may be the next town over, not in your hometown.
Find YOUR price point, don’t try to be cheaper than the last guy.
Find YOUR customer, don’t judge their preferences, sell your product, don’t be who you are not.
Find YOUR way, don’t let the hard days win. =
Muddy Water Farm Lisa and Sarah Lay Madisonville, TN www.facebook.com/beefandblossomstn lisaley99@yahoo.com • 423.295.4483
When did you start your business:
“Smith Family Farms the Market” started in June 2015.
How did you get started:
We started by attending multiple farmers markets, but then decided to open a store front in June of 2015.
Reason behind starting your business:
We have always prided ourselves on producing a quality beef product. We wanted to make our products along with other local products available to the public on a regular basis.
What your business offers:
In addition to beef, we offer fresh chicken and pork along with many frozen meat products. We also offer a variety of food and cooking products produced in Indiana.
Where can your products be purchased:
Products can be purchased at “the Market” in Pendleton, IN.
Did you start as a store front, farmers market attendee or work your way into that:
We started by attending multiple farmers markets; as many as four at one time. Following that, we opened our store front “The Market”.
How do you promote your business:
Most of our promotion is done by word of mouth, but we have a big presence on social media as well. Also, having a big farmers market following that followed us to our store front didn’t hurt at the start.
Overall growth of business:
The business is growing extremely well, during the height of the pandemic, we were nearly double the business the year before. Keeping those new customers is a big priority to us currently.
What makes “Shorthorn” Beef special to you/your business:
For us its all about quality, since we are dealing direct with the consumer the meat has to look good and thats where the marbling of shorthorns comes in. We also rely on the great flavor and extra tenderness of shorthorn beef to keep our customers coming back.
Advice for others to get started:
Find your market and cater to it, in today’s world there are many options that comes to raising a quality beef product. Find something that works in your production plan but also has added value and is something that your customers will pay a premium for. =
When did you start your business:
November 2019.
How did you get started:
We had been selling many cattle as custom beef, and it felt like it was the right time to formalize this sector of our operation and monopolize on our local beef market. Selling beef at the retail level has helped us not just sell more product but also connect with more customers wanting custom cut beef.
Reason behind starting your business:
We were experiencing dramatic discounts at the sale barn selling individual and ‘odd’ aged Shorthorn cattle, but we knew how well they grew and fed out. We knew our cattle were consistently producing high quality beef. This coupled with the desire for consumers to know where their beef was raised provided a prime
Smith Family Farms - The Market www.smithsthemarket.com info@smithsthemarket.com • 765-778-1024
Vaughn Farms Beef
opportunity and Vaughn Farms Beef was born.
What your business offers:
We offer a full array of beef products, ranging from typical freezer beef packages sold as a 1/4 , ½, or whole beef, to summer sausage, snack sticks, and beef jerky. All beef bratwursts in a variety of flavors and flavored hamburger patties are also some of our more popular items.
Where can your products be purchased:
Our products can be purchased online at vaughnfarmsbeef.com, local farmers markets, The Local Supply Company in Huxley, Iowa or The Cellar Winery in White Oak, Iowa.
Did you start as a store front, farmers market attendee or work your way into that:
We attend Maxwell’s Market in the Park and customers are
always welcome to come to the farm to buy direct.
How do you promote your business:
Primarily through our Vaughn Farms Beef Facebook page and referrals from customers.
Overall growth of business:
It has grown to handle the current amount of cattle that we are producing at Vaughn Farms that do not have a future in the show ring or the seedstock program. We hope that as the seedstock program continues to grow that the beef business will too.
What makes “Shorthorn” Beef special to you/your business:
We know that Shorthorn beef is as good as any and all other breeds of beef and has been making a great eating experience for our customers..
Advice for others to get started:
Our advice is to start with a plan and understand there are upfront costs. Selling your own beef directly to the consumer is a way of life and a great way to add money to an operation, but it is not a get rich quick type of venture. =
Vaughn Farms Mat & Jalane Vaughn 30001 635th Ave, Maxwell, IA 50161 vaughnfarmsbeef.com vaughn.farms.beef@gmail.com • 816-465-0341
When did you start your business:
2005
How did you get started:
Chris’s dad had an affinity for Red Angus cattle and purchased several when he retired. His father died just a few years later and Chris took over tending to the cows and land. He did his research and learned about Durhams. Chris met Steve Fields, a Shorthorn breeder in Climax, NC. While visiting Steve’s farm Chris purchased shorthorn beef. He wanted to taste the difference for himself. A blind taste test dinner followed and Chris knew then that Shorthorn beef was all he wanted to sell and eat. Chris spent years building his herd buying select heifers and most recently a Jungels bull, JSF Big Sky 87E.
Reason behind starting your business:
Farming was a way to return to our roots. Both of us grew up on family farms and knowing the risk and the reward of hard work, wanted to use the resources we had to maximize the opportunities we had been given.
What your business offers:
In addition to selling freezer beef, Yokeley Farms sells registered heifers and quality hay.
Where can your products be purchased:
You can purchase our products on the farm; at the Kernersvillle Farmer’s Market; on the menu at The Wallburg Diner.
Did you start as a store front, farmers market attendee or work your way into that:
We definitely worked our way into that. We opened the store front after about 2 years by converting an old root cellar into a cozy general store where customers can buy local sauces, eggs, beef and pork. We didn’t start selling at the farmer’s market until 2013.
How do you promote your business:
Yokeleyfarms.com website and Yokeley Farms Facebook page.
Overall growth of business:
We have enjoyed growth in our beef sales year on year, but we are a small farm with a finite capacity for growth. We service a loyal customer base and accept only a few new customers each year.
What makes “Shorthorn” Beef special to you/your business:
We are in a region dominated by Black Angus farms. We didn’t want to be just be another Angus beef producer. We wanted to introduce our community to the benefits of Shorthorn beef, both in taste and quality of the product. Shorthorn cattle carry two copies of the GeneSTAR Tenderness gene nearly 97% of the time, compared to 78% of Angus and 70% of Hereford. The docile temperament of Shorthorn cattle makes raising them enjoyable. They make great mamas and every calving season is as exciting as Christmas morning. You never know what the calves are going to
Yokeley Farms
look like but they are always beautiful.
Advice for others to get started:
Network with other Shorthorn breeders. You can learn so much just by talking to them. Chris recalls learning a tremendous amount on the Shorthorn University farm tours held several years ago. On his second farm tour in 2014, Chris was impressed by a presentation at Bowman Superior Genetics where Phillip Bowman said, focus on what you’re good at. It was then that Chris knew that producing Shorthorn Beef needed to be his area of concentration and began looking at EPDs in earnest as far as purchasing replacement heifers for our beef program. Relationships forged on those trips and knowledge gained remain valuable to this day. =
Yokeley Farms 1111 Harvey Teague Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27107 yokeleyfarms.com ysc@triad.rr.com • 336-345-7333
SHORTHORN BEEF
• LOCALLY RAISED •
ESTD 1872
