Why we are doing it

written by

posted on

August 2, 2023

ZOE Farms and my family are synonymous. It's Erin, Sierrah and Morgan and me. The reputation of our business is our own reputation. This is why I want to make it clear what our intentions are with our expanding dry-aged beef program.

To a casual observer, this may appear as a tactic to make more money. After all, the prices are roughly 25% higher than our regular beef. I want you to know right now, up front, that this is not happening. By the time we calculate losses with shrink and waste (the outer moldy crust layer, the "pellicle" is thrown away), we are making the same profit as all the other beef. Believe me - we sell enough of our existing beef already as soon as it is butchered. We do not need to wait sixty days to sell it for more!

So, why are we doing it?

At first, it was about taste. The controlled process of dry-aging beef for more than 45 days does two things: 1. Tenderizes the meat. 2. Enhances flavor. When I first dove into this, I was going for a better tasting steak. Success. More tender and richer flavor.

I began to feel a bit guilty about the endeavor, though, because I felt like I was wasting all this time and resources to simply chase a better taste. Epicurious, the ancient Greek philosopher, said that the meaning of life is to pursue pleasure. I have nothing against pleasure, don't get me wrong. That said, ZOE Farms is not founded on the pursuit of pleasure.

If ZOE Farms is to invest in something, there must be a deeper reason to justify the allocation of time and resources. This bothered me for a few months, then it dawned on me one day... "I'm not changing this meat, nature is!" I am not systematically jiggering with the chemicals of salt, fat and sugar to predictably create a human craving reflex. This ain't a candy bar -- this is a purely grass-fed piece of meat being transformed into something better by natural methods.

When this light bulb turned on, I immediately asked Erin to find any literature that studied the effects of dry aging (she does all the research!) BINGO - she found several studies that explained what was happening molecularly to the meat. Both of us were blown away.... This stuff doesn't just taste better, it is better for us!

It was at that moment when Erin and I both agreed - we stumbled into something wonderful. Our beef dry-aging program is solely focused on sharing a better way to eat meat. Our pursuit is not increased profit. It is not about increased pleasure -- This, my friends --- this is our search for an increasing connection to the life around us through the food we consume.

Thank you for reading - Dustin

Erin captured the video below as we were driving home from the butcher. It was heavy on my mind and I'm thankful she turned on the camera.

A Subject in Regenerative Farming Not Discussed

There are two struggles in regenerative farming. One is visible. The other is hidden. The visible struggle is obvious. Small farms like ours compete against companies with enormous marketing budgets, national distribution, investor backing, and public relations teams. A company like Vital Farms has a market capitalization measured in billions of dollars. They buy placement in grocery stores across the country, dominate advertising channels, and repeat carefully crafted messages nationally until they become accepted as truth. For years, terms like "pasture-raised" have been used because chickens were actually being raised in green, abundant pastures. Corporations like Vital Farms practice something entirely different. These details matter. Definitions matter. Transparency matters. Yet large companies have enormous resources to shape public perception. That is the visible fight. It's the proverbial “David versus Goliath” story everyone recognizes. Vital farms packs 50,000 birds in a barn with some doors open on the sides. They call it "pasture raised". They are trading off of the good will created by farms like us who DO IT FOR REAL. The hidden struggle, however, is far more important. Farming is heavily dependent on debt. Equipment, land, livestock and operation loans. Production seasons are financed and insured. Interest and insurance payments become significant cost centers. These payment schedules create a difficult reality - many farms spend a significant portion of their energy servicing financial obligations. Farming becomes less and less about stewarding land and animals and more about generating enough cash flow to satisfy lenders. This pressure, without doubt, changes behavior. It changes the way decisions are made and what priorities are highest. When debt becomes large enough, nearly everything becomes secondary to the repayment schedule. Erin and I recognized this hard reality early on. We decided that if we were serious about building a truly regenerative farm, it needed to be a financially regenerative farm as well. That meant refusing to finance our operations. No investors. No shareholders. No operating loans. No one sits at a table across from us explaining why we should relax our standards to improve profitability or efficiency. It has taken us three years to finish this structure without debt. We planned to construct the bare necessities first, then we prioritized the biggest needs as money became available. It is now fully functioning with ZERO debt. If we have a slow season, we simply slow down rather than cutting corners to pay loans To be clear - this decision has never been easy. Every year, peak production season is May through October, and we barely scrape by. We’ve nearly lost everything – several times. In many obvious ways, it has made our journey significantly harder. Growth is slower when you don't borrow your way forward. Infrastructure takes longer to build. New projects take patience. Expansion happens only when the resources actually exist. But there is a tradeoff that we found to be worth everything. Freedom. Freedom to tell the truth. Freedom to make decisions that align with our mission rather than someone else's financial model. Freedom to reject shortcuts. Freedom to say no. Investing in soil biology, grazing systems, animal welfare, local processing, and employees in alignment with our mission takes years. We remain free to serve the people who matter most. Our patrons. That is our secret weapon. Not marketing. Not venture capital. Not investor funding. Our patrons. Our relationship with our patrons remains rock solid because they provide the financial freedom for us to pursue our mission without distraction. Every food dollar entrusted to our care directly funds the farm itself. Food money pays to keep our mission going and growing, not servicing debt. Our patrons have become our shareholders. They may not own a piece of the business, but they make the business possible. Their support allows us to remain financially independent. We realized a valuable truth early -- the relationship between our farm and our patrons forms the symbiotic financial backbone of truly regenerative farming. As we invest in better stewardship, our patrons receive better food. As our patrons continued supporting the farm, we can invest in the resources to become better stewards. We strengthen one another. The cycle continues. It’s regenerative finance serving regenerative farming. This relationship has created something highly resilient. A farm that answers to no investors. No shareholders. No bankers. We are free to serve our mission and the One who has called us forward into discovering the riches of a food production design centered on healing rather than exploitation. A special thank you to all of our patrons who make this possible. ❤️🙏 Dustin and Erin

Bigger Than Growth

We could make a living if the farm was a fraction of its current size. We are not chasing growth for growth’s sake. We are not trying to become a national brand. We are not looking for outside investors. We are not building this business so that one day....

The Foundation of Regenerative Farming

Every characteristic that makes food desirable—flavor, aroma, texture, color, and nutrition—begins with sunlight. Plants are nature’s solar collectors. Through photosynthesis, they convert solar energy into sugars, proteins, fats, antioxidants, and countless other compounds that ultimately become the building blocks of every grazing animal on earth.

Why we are doing it

More from the blog

A Subject in Regenerative Farming Not Discussed

Bigger Than Growth

The Foundation of Regenerative Farming

Daily Posts How We Raise Your Food