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Katie and Kregg Carothers both come from a long line of farmers. Though they aren’t beginning farmers, the young couple farm outside of Anthony, Kansas, raising 500 cow-calf pairs, Berkshire hogs, Navajo churro lambs, chickens, wheat, hay, as well as their two boys, Cooper, 8, and Callan, 2.
In 2015, the couple opened their meat business, Homegrown KCK Farms, providing quality meat directly to consumers throughout the U.S. while educating the public about the industry. So far, the Carothers have shipped their meat to 39 states across the nation.
The couple use a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) processing and packing facility for all their meat items. Every item they sell has a custom USDA-approved farm label. The beef is dry aged for 21 days at the facility, which Katie says adds flavor and tenderness.
“For us, 2020 was a hard year, but it also worked for us,” says Katie Carothers. “Prior to COVID, we purchased a walk-in cooler and a building downtown to serve as our headquarters. We have some big goals for 2021 that are scary but exciting.”
The couple has their 2021 and 2022 butcher dates booked, which Carothers says has never happened this far in advance. “The next couple of years are going to be busy, but we’re excited to continue growing our business and sharing our family farming story.”
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She says it’s exciting to have big goals as a young farmer and rancher but there are also many established, older farmers who say it will never work. However, she believes you have to think unconventionally to make farming work right now.
“You can’t just do it because that’s how we’ve always done it,” says Carothers. “It’s not always bad but it’s not always good. It’s a risk doing something that’s not traditional, but I also hope more farmers will see the advantages of getting into this type of business and do it right by not selling it so cheap.”
Carothers says more and more farmers are getting into the direct-to-consumer sales. She doesn’t feel threatened by the rise in demand, but she does want farmers to do it right.
“A challenge for us is seeing farmers sell their beef to make a quick buck, for example, at $3.50 a pound, and we have a steady margin of $6 a pound,” says Carothers. “That’s not sustainable and hurts the whole industry and every one of us who is selling beef right now.”
Though the Carothers are ready to take on a new year of opportunities, they still have their concerns eyed on the volatile cattle market.
“The noncompetitive packer market is one of the biggest things that impacts my husband and I,” says Katie. “Most of our income comes from either wheat or the feedlot. That’s why we started our business – to avoid putting all our eggs in one basket. I think this is where COVID is going to make or break that because more attention is being drawn to the margin the packers have been making.”
Carothers says through the unstable market, she is able to tell their story in a nice, objective way. She believes people are able to connect more with their meat, know where it comes from, and understand that food doesn’t come from the grocery store.
Although they will continue to have their typical concerns, Carothers says after 2020, they’re ready to open a new door to and reach their long-term goals of providing their products to more and more consumer across the country.