Guest blogger Amy Sipes is mom of three and a small cattle farmer in Kentucky. She and her husband own and operate John’s Custom Meats, a modern on-farm USDA slaughterhouse, processing facility, and retail meat market. Among a laundry list of other duties, Amy navigates the FSIS regulatory world, serves as the in-plant food safety and HACCP coordinator and consults with livestock farmers on ways of adding value to their livestock. You will also find her hands-on at the cutting tables with knife in hand.

We all know the song, a great classic by the Stealers Wheel band. It’s also a good fit for a small meat processor like myself.

We are in a unique position. Politics and regulation pull us in one direction; consumers are pulling us in another, and livestock farmers? They pull us every way but loose! We generally are stuck in the middle. Regulations dictate the feasibility of what slaughter & processing services my business offers and how I go about offering them (for the most part). Consumer concerns and requests shape our wholesale and retail meat product offerings.   Our livestock farmers are so diverse their needs are all over the place.

On the processing side of the business, we provide services for a diverse range of livestock farmers. They are conventional to organic, internationally owned to family owned, large commercial to the small family homesteader, dairy operations and cattle, pigs, lamb, goat, and exotics. My customer base is an eclectic mishmash of agriculture sectors, related but unique with their own individual needs.

Whether their customers are their own family, the general public, or the commercial commodity market, they all have at least one thing in common. Me. They need me and I need them. Neither of us could successfully exist without the other. Our retail & wholesale clientele are equally diverse. This perspective has given me an appreciation for farmers and consumers of all walks of life. They all (for the most part) come together to meet in the middle in the most unlikely place….at the processor. Who knew? Developing an understanding and tolerance is essential to our success. Not just my businesses success, but agriculture as a whole.

Farmers often feel like they are under attack, and many times rightfully so. Consumers may feel as if no one is listening to their concerns, usually equally warranted.  Many times, we as farmers get caught up in “fighting back” with science jargon we likely don’t fully understand ourselves and preaching industry factoids instead of hearing, acknowledging, and connecting on a human level. We’re often found bickering amongst ourselves like school age children instead sharing our experiences in meaningful debate. This is no surprise because benefit to one sector of agriculture may well likely result in injury to another.  I think we can do better at understanding and respecting each other.

Ribeyes and handmade brats are just two of the favorites from this small meat processor. See https://www.JohnsCustomMeats.com or https://www.facebook.com/johnscustommeats.

By the same token, some outside of agriculture make narrow minded demands on already struggling farmers to make the world of agriculture a fictional fairyland. Agriculture is not black and white.  It is all shades in between, thankfully.  “Factory Farm” is an offensive, dirty word – and sure to put a farmer on the defensive.  Conventional farming is not trying to kill you. Organic farming is not a cure all.  Local food economies cannot feed the masses, they won’t cure world hunger, nor will they save the world from certain demise. However, all of those types of farming combined together is a thriving agricultural community with diverse product choices to meet the needs and wants of many.

Whether involved in agriculture or not, maybe we should take a play out of the small meat processor’s playbook and realize that none of us can exist successfully without the other. Sometimes, being stuck in the middle is the best place to be. What do you think?

~ guest post by Amy Sipes.  Note from Michele – be sure to connect with Amy on Twitter @kyfarmersmatters – you’ll be entertained by her unique tweets, particularly during #AgChat.

Hungry for more? Related posts:
What Shape is Your Food Plate?
Food Choices
Changing the Earth with Every Bite