Conversations with Emily Barnes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Barnes.

Hi Emily, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My name is Emily, and I’m a farmer. My husband (John) and I raise Angus cattle and Berkshire pigs, and we own Bravo Steaks. Bravo Steaks is a meat company that sells and ships beef and pork from our farm directly to homes nationwide. We are a first-generation operation – John and I started our farm from scratch. It’s really hard to start any business from scratch, especially a capital-intensive, experience-intensive business like a farm. Fortunately, from the start, both John and I came in with more experience than money can buy. Both of us were raised around livestock (I showed cattle and raised wool-breed sheep; John showed market livestock through his hometown 4-H). In college, we both pursued and furthered our livestock experience in many ways.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but individually we were setting ourselves up with a golden experience that would be useful later in life once we started our own farm. For example, I interned in Consumer Education for a beef company, and I studied beef & sheep production abroad in New Zealand. John was the ranch hand on a 600-HD cattle operation during college summers, and he traveled the country evaluating and learning about correct livestock structure and appearance while he was on a collegiate livestock judging team. Because we were both relatively fresh to our exposure with livestock, we absorbed anything and everything we could find – we took every opportunity presented to us.

A few years later, we met, started dating, got married, and decided to pursue our mutual dreams of operating a farm. We had the knowledge and experience, but we lacked the location and resources. We saw that there was a need in our community and amongst our friends and family. Everyone placed value on where their food came from and they wanted to know that it was raised ethically, responsibly, and by farmers who are deeply invested and committed to farm animal husbandry. The way our food is raised matters in really big ways. It influences taste, our individual connection to our food, our environment, and the makeup of our communities. Our friends and family all recognized this, and they encouraged us in our hard-fought path to make our farm a reality.

We started our farm by leasing one pasture from a retiring farmer. Soon after we started leasing another, then another, then another. Eventually, we were leasing several hundred acres but they were at multiple different locations, 20-30 miles apart. We were thankful for our scrappy start, but we recognized that a hurdle to the success of our business was efficiency. We sought a more efficient way, hoping to find one contiguous farm property that would save us time and resources by being all in one spot. Eventually, we found one contiguous farm property for lease, relocated our entire farm there (no small feat!), and that’s where we operate today.

Today, we operate a 650-acre farm. We sell frozen beef and pork directly from the farm, shipped nationwide on dry ice. We have customers in nearly every state in the country, especially in the Carolinas. Some folks compare us to Butcher Box with the added benefit of actually knowing the farmers and directly supporting the first-generation farm.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We’ve had our share of struggles but each hardship has helped us grow and learn. Examples of struggles we face: WEATHER!!!! We cannot dictate the weather and it directly impacts our pasture & livestock, so we learn to adapt, be flexible, and do the best we can.

As I mentioned in the previous question, farms require tremendous capital to get started investing in land, equipment, livestock, working capital, etc. We’ve met this challenge head-on by being willing to lease land from retiring farmers or families who no longer have any family members who want to or know how to farm. Nearly all of the farms that we’ve leased have been owned by the property’s respective family ownership for 100+ years, but today in 2021 they have no family members who can operate them. That’s where we come in.

We do not do any of our own butchering- we send everything to a USDA inspected facility so that we’re allowed to send our meat across state lines (and nationwide!). It’s challenging to find high-quality butchers. Cutting and packaging meat is an art- butchery might look like they’re just cutting things into pieces but it’s much more complicated than that. Over the years, we’ve developed relationships with high-quality butchers whom we trust, but at first, it was a challenge.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We use social media to tell the story of our farm– especially through Instagram @bravosteaks. We find that our customers enjoy knowing and experiencing what happens behind the scenes of a farm – to share and understand the time and commitment involved in raising high-quality beef and pork. We use social media to paint the backdrop of where our beef and pork is grown. Our customers can visualize the landscape and we find that that matters to our community. We consistently share our farm story – through all of the seasons, through good times, and through tough times. Our customers enjoy this authentic journey. Bottom line (and we’re quick to admit that we’re biased!) – we think meat is nutritious and one of the most minimally processed proteins in the market. We think meat-eaters want to know that the meat on their grill, skillet, or plate was raised with care. Our Bravo Steaks customers have full confidence in that, thanks to our ability to share about our farm through the internet.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
We are addicted to multiple weather apps and check them constantly. We operate our e-commerce store through the Shopify app on iPhone.

• Agricultural marketing updates through both podcasts and blogs.
• Animal husbandry blogs and websites
• Cooking blogs and websites.
• Motivational apps and podcasts- being a small business owner can be tough so it’s great to keep motivated
• Try to stay up to date with current events and news worldwide.

Pricing:

• Bravo Co-Op Meat Subscription Box – Farm Favorites 15 lbs $199 (includes free shipping)
• Rotating weekly specials

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.bravosteaks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bravosteaks/

Image Credits
Tasha Barbour Photography