Young Ranchers Market Beef Direct To Consumers
While growing up on a Nebraska cattle farm, Hannah Klitz knew she always wanted to be involved in the beef industry. “Entering college, I planned on being a cattle embryologist, but changed my focus when, as a Beef Ambassador, I realized there was a large need to connect producers with consumers, giving those producers a “positive face,” Klitz says. In 2018, as a college sophomore studying animal science and entrepreneurship, Hannah started Oak Barn Beef in a retired cattle barn on her parent’s farm. She marketed her first products as premium dry-aged beef produced from her family’s farm.
Knowing she’d have to learn more about direct marketing to be successful, Klitz spent the summer of 2018 on Five Mary’s Ranch in California to learn about their farm-to-table operation. “That was a valuable step that helped me learn about running a farm-to-table operation, shipping a perishable product, and using social media for promotion,” she says.
Changes happened quickly over the next five years. Now married to Eric and with a daughter, Hannah says Oak Barn Beef has expanded more than she could’ve imagined. They ship beef to customers in all 50 states. The business recently expanded with a warehouse, freezer, and retail store at a new location in West Point, Neb.
Eric and Hannah have been around livestock their whole lives and use this experience to care for their animals in the best way possible at both of their family’s farms. They have a strict protocol for cattle vaccinations, pasture the cattle with rotational grazing, and grow them out with a finishing ration carefully developed by cattle nutritionists. Hannah says their goal is to produce sustainable beef that gains rich flavor through dry aging.
All of their beef is aged in a controlled environment for 14 to 21 days after slaughter by a local USDA-inspected butcher. “This process produces a noticeable difference in taste and tenderness, where tougher connective tissues are broken down to produce tender, almost butter-soft steaks, roasts, and ground beef. Steaks can usually be cut with a fork.”
Hannah says people shouldn’t just take her word for their beef quality; they can read the reviews from the Oak Farm website. Nineteen pages of positive reviews help them know they’re doing things right when raising their cattle for premium beef.
Oak Barn sources beef from cattle bred and raised for premium carcass traits like tenderness, marbling, and animal size. They’re also handled carefully in a low-stress environment. Never one to rest on past laurels, Hannah has also developed an online course for other entrepreneurs who want to start a farm-to-table meat business. Check the Oak Barn website for more information on the class and Oak Barn meat products.
Hannah adds, “We’re very fortunate to have many helping hands for our business, with our families pitching in often to help.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Oak Barn Beef, P.O. Box 2, West Point, Neb. 68788 (www.oakbarnbeef.com).
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Young Ranchers Market Beef Direct To Consumers LIVESTOCK Beef While growing up on a Nebraska cattle farm Hannah Klitz knew she always wanted to be involved in the beef industry “Entering college I planned on being a cattle embryologist but changed my focus when as a Beef Ambassador I realized there was a large need to connect producers with consumers giving those producers a “positive face ” Klitz says In 2018 as a college sophomore studying animal science and entrepreneurship Hannah started Oak Barn Beef in a retired cattle barn on her parent’s farm She marketed her first products as premium dry-aged beef produced from her family’s farm Knowing she’d have to learn more about direct marketing to be successful Klitz spent the summer of 2018 on Five Mary’s Ranch in California to learn about their farm-to-table operation “That was a valuable step that helped me learn about running a farm-to-table operation shipping a perishable product and using social media for promotion ” she says Changes happened quickly over the next five years Now married to Eric and with a daughter Hannah says Oak Barn Beef has expanded more than she could’ve imagined They ship beef to customers in all 50 states The business recently expanded with a warehouse freezer and retail store at a new location in West Point Neb Eric and Hannah have been around livestock their whole lives and use this experience to care for their animals in the best way possible at both of their family’s farms They have a strict protocol for cattle vaccinations pasture the cattle with rotational grazing and grow them out with a finishing ration carefully developed by cattle nutritionists Hannah says their goal is to produce sustainable beef that gains rich flavor through dry aging All of their beef is aged in a controlled environment for 14 to 21 days after slaughter by a local USDA-inspected butcher “This process produces a noticeable difference in taste and tenderness where tougher connective tissues are broken down to produce tender almost butter-soft steaks roasts and ground beef Steaks can usually be cut with a fork ” Hannah says people shouldn’t just take her word for their beef quality; they can read the reviews from the Oak Farm website Nineteen pages of positive reviews help them know they’re doing things right when raising their cattle for premium beef Oak Barn sources beef from cattle bred and raised for premium carcass traits like tenderness marbling and animal size They’re also handled carefully in a low-stress environment Never one to rest on past laurels Hannah has also developed an online course for other entrepreneurs who want to start a farm-to-table meat business Check the Oak Barn website for more information on the class and Oak Barn meat products Hannah adds “We’re very fortunate to have many helping hands for our business with our families pitching in often to help ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Oak Barn Beef P O Box 2 West Point Neb 68788 www oakbarnbeef com
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