Claybrook Farms

For decades, my family has dedicated their lives to crop farming and to breeding Black Angus cattle on our farm in Covington, just north of Memphis.It has always been a labor of love that brings daily challenges and lasting satisfaction. We have experienced the ebb and flow of technological advances in farming equipment and the benefits of natural genetic tracing in our purebred Black Angus herd. In the last 30 years and particularly in the past decade, we have seen a dramatic increase in corporate “agribusiness” that has transformed the agricultural industry. These changes impact the consumer in a variety of ways. You may recall recent news stories that headlined topics such as pink slime, growth hormones, animal confinement, and antibiotics. These news stories spawned the flood of new and creative labeling such as “natural,” “cage free,” and “organic.” Local sourcing eliminates the uncertainty associated with these vague labels and misleading claims. When you purchase local beef, you effectively eliminate the middleman. Of course, all big box labels may not be misleading and all local farmers may not be honest, but by removing countless middlemen associated with most meat products today you will find yourself closer to the truth.

Another advantage to local sourcing is that of quality control.A typical grocery butcher cannot receive feedback from a customer about a steak they purchased and relay that information to the cattlemen because they have never met them or visited the farm. That line of communication is lost when local sourcing is unavailable. Before January of last year when we formed Claybrook Farms Meat Company, my cousins Carl and Dave Turner had never received direct feedback from an individual that ate beef produced from Claybrook Farms cattle. This feedback brings them immense satisfaction and in some ways validates their years of dedication on the farm.

As my cousin Dave says, “we do things the slow right way.” Over the years, our decision to raise our cattle without hormones and antibiotics is not because it is a national trend but because it is the best way to achieve quality and healthy beef.Finding local beef and food producers that are directly invested in their products promotes sustainable communities and better health.

Sincerely,

Michael Rice

Claybrook Farms