Bringing a homegrown tradition to your family’s table is a mission of the Buckeye Valley Beef Cooperative located in Brown County, Ohio. They are comprised of four farm families that raise beef cattle to sell in a direct market. The families involved are Ben Parker of Parker Farm Red Angus, Eric and Lori Nethero of Nethero Farms, Adam and Aubrey of Bolender Family Beef and Tyler and Katie Spiller of Spiller Family Farm.
At Bolender Family Beef Adam and Aubrey and their two daughters Macy and Emery wok on their family’s third generation farm. Originally, their farm was comprised of a dairy herd but due to the vulnerability of the milk market they decided to transition out of the dairy industry and focus solely on the beef cattle.
Bolender Family Beef had been selling to a direct market but realized that if they wanted to get into a grocery or a restaurant then they would need to get a more consistent supply. This is when they decided to approach fellow producers that had similar operations to theirs and that’s when they decided to create a cooperative. The cooperative was found in March of 2016 and is currently selling their beef in IGA’s in Georgetown and Hamilton, Ohio as well as Vevay and Lawrenceburg, Indiana. They also sell in the Clifton Market Cooperative in Cincinnati.
Another family involved in the cooperative is Nethero Farms. Eric and his wife Lori are continuing the work of their parents’ farm traditions. Eric’s family began selling freezer beef over 25 years ago. They strive to provide a safe and natural source of beef for their consumers. Eric works with another local producer to purchase calves at weaning and then feed them to a finishing weight. This is done by using pasture, feed and hay off the farm.
Eric enjoys being involved in the cooperative because he is able to work with others to make decisions based on what’s best for the entire group. They are also able to work together to meet the needs of customers. “We take a lot of pride in the work that we do,” said Eric Nethero. “A lot goes into it; time, blood, sweat and tears. We strive to put the best product possible on the table.”
As local growers the cooperative’s goal is to put a face amongst their consumers, so they know where their food comes from. This is something incredibly important to the families within the cooperative. This allows their consumers to feel more confident in the product they are purchasing.
“The best part of being in the coop is being able to see everything from start to finish,” said Aubrey Bolender. “It’s very gratifying to be able to deliver the product because we have been able to have a hand in it from start to finish.”
In the future the cooperative would like to be able to grow the business. This would allow them to bring on more local farmers and help those farmers find a market and support themselves financially through the cooperative.
“I want consumers to know that we are generational farmers,” said Aubrey. “The farms that we have and we are trying to sustain are really important to us and we want to be able to pass them onto the next generation.”
Paul Hall Insurance is proud to work with Buckeye Valley Beef Cooperative and we also enjoy having a delicious T-Bone from Buckeye Valley Cooperative from time to time! Want to learn more about Buckeye Valley Beef Cooperative visit: www.buckeyevalleybeef.com
Buy their beef today at:
- Clifton Market
- ONLINE
- Your local IGA in
- Georgetown, OH
- Hamilton, OH (Ross)
- Vevay, IN
- coming soon to Lawrenceburg, IN