An Exciting New Adventure

For those of you that haven’t heard…..my family has some exciting news to share! We’ve recently started into a venture of raising steers for beef to sell retail.

McCalls Ferry Farm, my family farm, is located on the banks of the Susquehanna River in York County, Pennsylvania. I’ve written many posts about how special I think our farm in Airville is (Farm Life Blessing #2 & Farm Life Blessing #12), so I’m sure that you agree with me, too.

Steers in our pasture.

About a year ago, our family started having some discussions about how we might be able to make the farm more of a family venture. For many years, our farm was a dairy farm, but more recently my dad had just been raising some dairy steers for beef. We saw great opportunity with expanding that operation and taking advantage of increased interest in consumers wanting to know where their food comes from. Plus, with my sister living in Fairfax County, Virginia, it seemed like a great fit!

And so we’ve started the endeavor! There was lots of planning and preparation, and we officially set up a stand at our first farmer’s market last Thursday. Additionally, we plan to sell beef locally in southcentral Pennsylvania.

My mom, Pam, with our farm market stand last week.

Although we are still new in this business, I feel that we’ve had some great success so far, and I’d like to offer a few key points that have helped to build a strong foundation:

• Take the time to plan. I can’t tell you how many hours my sister and I spent putting together a rather comprehensive business plan for the operation. We carefully considered all aspects of the retail beef industry and the market. Selling at farmer’s markets is just the beginning….we have big plans for McCalls Ferry Farm!
• Understand family members’ strengths. Our family is very lucky to have family members with diverse skillsets. Between the five of us, we cover everything from farm operations and finance to marketing and sales. However, we recognize that one person cannot have 100% of the responsibility for one area, and sharing responsibility is a strength.
• Have passion. This new enterprise has been very exciting for our family. We’re thrilled to tell our story with consumers so that they can have a greater appreciation for where their food comes from. Although we might only be selling beef right now, we’re even considering expanding into other products. Isn’t that exciting?!

Thanks to all of our friends and family for your support of this new endeavor. We’re excited with what is ahead for McCalls Ferry Farm!

Be sure to check out our website at www.mccallsferryfarm.com and like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/mccallsferryfarm) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/mccallsferry)!