Iowa meat farms are changing how their product is sold

Around 3,000 Iowa farms are now selling meat directly to consumers, up 50 percent from the number doing that in 2015.

Amana Farms Beef was one of those operations that made that shift during the pandemic and its concurrent supply chain problems.

“Some of those folks were being put on a waiting list for not just months, but years, to be able to get a slot to get an animal in and get it processed,” said John McGrath, general manager of Amana Farms.

“Because we’re a larger-sized producer, we were able to work with a medium-sized processor and they were able to get us in with just a couple of weeks’ notice.”

In the past, individuals have been able to order meat directly from farmers if they had a personal connection with the farmer. Opening up that opportunity to the public works much like that, McGrath said.

Selling points

McGrath said another reason for shifting the Amana Farms’ business model was customers wanting more transparency about the food they eat.

“There has been more of a movement for folks desiring to know the people that are raising their food and want to know more about it,” he said.

Chris Montross, from the family-owned Montross Cattle Farm in Williamsburg, said he switched to a direct-order model in the fall of 2021 to reach more customers during the pandemic.

Since then, Montross said, he’s continued to emphasize the safety his farm’s meat.

Other distributors also produce safe meat, he said, but there is no guarantee without being able to source the product. Recently, 51 people in Iowa became ill after a catering company violated the storage temperature requirements for meat.

Montross described his farm’s meat as “perfectly safe” because the product the farm sells is raised in their own facilities and taken to a local processor, eliminating any risk associated with sourcing meat.

He said his customers also cite a distinct difference in taste. Because Montross Cattle Farm hangs its meat for 21 days to 28 days to allow for proper aging, the flavor is what makes consumers come back, he said.

“That makes a world of difference, and the big chains aren’t able to do that,” Montross said. “That’s been our biggest compliment.”

David Grunklee, the dean of applied technologies at Hawkeye Community College and a former member of the state’s Artisanal Butchery Task Force, agreed, saying meat from a local farm is typically of higher quality.

Direct-order meat programs have become more popular in recent years due to cheaper shipping options and the difference in taste, he said.

“You’re going to get fresher, better quality,” Grunklee said.

A growing industry

Direct-order meat sales in Iowa totaled just under $30 million in 2020, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics cited by Amanda Van Steenwyk, farm business development manager for the Iowa Farm Bureau.

In 2015, she said, just over 2,000 Iowa farms were selling direct to consumers. That number has increased to nearly 3,000 by 2020, when the pandemic set in.

One reason for the growth, she said, is the increased control farmers have over pricing the business model gives them.

“The idea of being a price-setter instead of a price-taker, for many operations, is appealing,” Van Steenwyk said. “Farmers are entrepreneurs at heart — they see the opportunity, and they want to seize the opportunity.”

While direct-order programs are more work than selling to distributors, the financial benefits and the control over profits balance out the additional costs of shipping and communication with customers, she said.

The Iowa Farm Bureau, she said, now offers a Grow Your Future award that offers up to $7,500 to young farmers with innovative ideas.

“It’s your younger generations, your generations that are coming back to the farm that are interested” in direct-order programs, Van Steenwyk said. “It’ll be an interesting area of agriculture to continue to watch.”

Van Steenwyk said she anticipates direct-selling will continue to grow. As farmers continue to learn marketing strategies to promote their business, more revenue will come from the business model, she said.

“Farmers are doing a better job of marketing and advertising what they have to offer,” she said.

Reaching customers

Jennifer Hinrichs, the program manager for the direct-order meat at Amana Farms Beef, said the process has been full of learning what customers are looking for in the cuts and the bundling of meat.

McGrath described Hinrichs as a “one-woman show” in organizing the direct-order program and hammering out the logistics.

“I’ve been learning the best way to process everything to make sure that we have products that people are wanting, and just trying to learn those different dynamics of the influx and trends,” Hinrichs said.

As for advertising, most customers find the farm through a Google search. The farm also is active on social media, Hinrichs said.

Montross Cattle Farm also has been selling at local farmers markets recently, increasing its sales by around 20 percent, she said.

The Montross Cattle Farm website and Facebook page emphasize how animals are treated on the farm, showing animals in spacious conditions. Pigs are raised in an unconfined area, and calves are raised in a pasture.

Both McGrath and Montross said the public response to the direct-order meat programs have been wholly positive.

“We’ve been very well received,” Montross said. “Getting it in people’s hands is the hardest part for us.”

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