Diversifying the Family Farm from Pasture to Plate

Written By Danna Larson

Hello and welcome to the farm! My name is Lillie Beringer and I am the face behind BFF Beef along with the support of my two wonderful parents. I am a 25-year-old, third generation FarmHer in small town Cascade, Iowa, and I am a young woman on a mission to share the farm to plate story and advocate for the industry I am most passionate about. I want to be that female farmer who you know and trust the story behind WHERE your beef comes and HOW it is raised.

Raising beef and living on the family farm outside of Cascade is all I have ever known. My Grandpa started farming in the 1950s, joined by my dad and uncle years later, and now it’s my turn as one of 26 grandchildren to lead Beringer Family Farms into the future and carry on my Grandpa’s farming legacy. The farm life is something I took interest in as a little girl; I was only six years old when my dad taught me how to drive the skid loader, and since then I’ve taken on any and all farm related tasks. From cutting hay to hauling manure to feeding cattle, I’ve pretty much done it all and will continue to do so as I takeover the farm with my parents. In March of 2020, I bought the "home place" from my grandparent's estate, my first 110-acre farm, so I could continue to keep the family farm alive and live out my farming dream. My parents purchased an additional 180 acres of crop ground from the estate at the same time I bought my farm to keep all of the land my Grandpa had owned in the family name. After we both closed on the farms in March of 2020, I knew I had to do something to bring in a different area of revenue on the farm to diversify our cash flow, so with that came Beringer Family Farms Beef (BFF Beef).

We have always raised and finished out our own cattle my entire life, but instead of selling directly to the sale barn, I started doing research on what it would take to get licensed and sell our own beef. Social media allowed me to see other families outside of Iowa selling beef directly off the farm, so I took the idea and ran with it. I launched my new beef business in January of 2021. I originally had plans of starting out by selling quarters and halves, but covid hit and small meat processing lockers around Eastern Iowa had no appointments available until 2022-2023. Knowing that I did not want to wait a few years to start my new business, I shifted my plan and looked into processing at a federally inspected plant to sell as individual cuts and ship beef boxes outside of Iowa. And there has been no turning back since!

I now offer farm pick up and ship twice a month all over the entire US, primarily marketing through my social media pages on Instagram and Facebook. I’ve shipped boxes to over 20 states since starting my business in January, and I can’t wait to someday say that I’ve shipped to all 50 states! It is such a rewarding feeling knowing families all across the US are able to taste and enjoy some high quality, 21 day dry-aged Angus beef from our farm in small town Cascade, Iowa.

Speaking of Cascade, I think it’s safe to say that there’s no place like home. Growing up I always said that I was moving out west to live on a ranch and be as far away from home as I could be. Throughout high school I used to get caught up and frustrated with thes mall-town gossip and “everybody knows everybody” mentality, so I tried my childhood dream and lived in Colorado for a summer internship during college working on a big feedlot for a few months. It was the worst and hardest summer of my life and I couldn’t wait for those few months to end and go back home. Moving away made me realize how much I took for granted how home really feels.

Now that I am older and live back in my hometown of Cascade, I have realized that one of the biggest blessings of living in a small town is that yes, everybody does know everybody. But that’s a good thing! I can’t walk down the streets without waving at somebody I know. I can’t drive through town in the tractor without someone calling and asking what I am doing. I can’t go out and listen to music on a Friday night without stopping every few seconds to chat with somebody I know, and I wouldn’t want it any other way! Not to mention the continuous community support I have received with the launch of my new beef business - there really is no place like home!

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

Danna Larson
Previous

Small Town, Big Plans
Next

Welcome to Cascade, Iowa