Today we’d like to introduce you to Wade Beyer
Hi Wade, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My wife and I both grew up farming and missed it when we moved back to the area after I got out of the Navy in 2005. We saved our pennies and slowly got enough to buy some land in 2010 then again in 2015 we found a place to move to in the country. We wanted our kids to grow up with the same experiences we did and learn how to work and care for the land and livestock. We moved to the Cannon Falls farm with no barn or animals or fences, so the first thing we did was build a barn and make lots of fence to have pasture for the animals. Our kids did not appreciate the fencing part! We started with one purebred Shorthorn heifer we bought at the state sale in Canon Falls, we were so proud. Our first cow died within 3 months due to getting out and into the feed area and it over ate, talk about a gut punch. We killed our one an only cow, the kids we devastated. Not of to a great start in the livestock farming sector, it was a tough but valuable lesson, these animals depend on us and its a huge responsibility and very expensive and heart retching when things go sideways. We went out and got 2 more cows and things went better from there, now we care for about 200 head of cattle each year calving in the spring and then turning them all out on pasture when it greens up in May.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No it never is, I mentioned before we lost our very first heifer when we started on our own. We lose calves to sickness, the cold and various other threats. It hurts too, there is a responsibility that farmers have to care for their animals and when we fail for reason in our out of our control is is gut wrenching and costly to our bottom line. We have had baby calves in our bath tub on multiple occasions trying to warm them from the cold Minnesota weather. We have seen cows go down giving birth and never stand back up do to nerve damage in the berthing process. Ranching is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards of saving a sick cow or pulling a new born calf are enough to keep us going. It is all about the journey and I love it. Farming gets in your blood and you can’t get it out, that’s why I was drawn back to it after years in different parts of the country and working in the Nuclear field.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My name is Wade I grew up in southeast MN in a town called Lewiston. I grew up farming hogs, beef and dairy animals as well as crops. When I graduated I headed off to the Navy to be a Nuclear Engineer on and aircraft carrier named the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). We did two deployments after 9/11. After I got out and went to work in the nuclear field, first for Dairyland Power Cooperative at the LACBWR plant in Genoa WI, then on to Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant in Red Wing for Xcel Energy. All the while, we were building our own farm operation on the side. In My of 2024, I made the move to full time farming and to focus on growing our farm to table meat business. We have about 150 head of cattle in Sogn Valley, just south of Cannon Falls. We also feed out some pigs and chickens each year for our customers.
Our kids Ashton, Lily, Sophia, Reyna and Olivia all have grown up helping work the cattle and do chores to keep the farm running. The farm is entirely family run with no outside labor so it keeps us busy year round, from feeding and raising crops, to fixing fences and equipment.
My wife Kayla has been in the food industry since graduating college and currently runs her own clean label protein company Deeply Rooted Farms which focuses on delivering healthy plant based foods to schools. She is the one who got me started in selling meats directly to local Minnesota schools through the MDA programs. She also has her law degree and practices law, in our rural community.
I love calving season to most, all the new babies seeing what colors and patterns they come out and then watching them run around and be kids in the pasture is always good for a laugh. Yes the hours are long, always checking and making sure they are birthing safely. Then having to inevitably assist or pull some to keep them alive, but when you are able to save one it is all worth it, all our kids have now pulled calves on their own since I was working off the farm also for the past years. Its rewarding also to see the kids witness and then save one themselves. You can not learn those types of things in school.
We also have been transitioning from conventional farming styles we grew up with to more regenerative practices. This looks at farming as its own local eco-system, with a goal of improving our soils through different practices that build off each other. All farming is dependent on soil for our source of income, its our most valued asset and we are focused on not just taking care of it as sustainable farming does, but improving it with natural practices that mimic nature. It has been a really fun and interesting journey, we are constantly trying new things to get better, and some work out and others not so much, but that is what keeps it interesting. I love always learning and growing (literally) because its so rewarding when one of our trials works out.
We talked to our customers and after mainly selling beef and pork as halves and quarters, we decided to offer a new Farm Share Subscription so that it did not require a large chest freezer nor a large thousand dollar payment in one swoop. This gives our customers the chance to get everything a family would need for the year on a monthly or quarterly basis. We divide up what your would get from a quarter beef, a half a hog and then chickens for the year into more convenient and manageable deliveries. We just launched this and have a first few customers mainly in the suburbs where they might not know a local farmer. To me buying from a local farmer is the only way to buy meat, it cuts out the middle men and the quality and care then put in is different than in a large scale corporate feedlot, many of us are not aware that grocery stores are now shipping in much of the meat from Brazil and other foreign countries.
We have a website BAMFmeats.com which is our main sales point. We also do attend a few farmers markets in the summer. We invite everyone interested in farm to table meats to join our mailing list to get the latest info, updates and specials. Even those who are not looking to purchase right now can learn what we are trying now and if not be educated you will at least be entertained for free with our newsletters. So go ahead and join our newsletter list.
Anything else you’d like to share or things you’d like us to highlight in the post?
Just a big thank you to all of our current customers and even those of you who buy direct from other farmers. You are supporting family farms and keeping them running as they a constantly facing pressures from the industry to cut corners to compete only on cost. You will not get better quality or value than from buying direct from the farm. There are so many misleading claims and miss information that is being spread to our consumers. Cattle are actually good for our environment, they live on the land and enrich it with natural fertilizer, not synthetic mined fertilizer or chemicals, if you need proof look at how many millions of bison roamed our prairies in harmony with the land before we came into change all that. Did we have climate issues then? Our biggest challenge is arming the general public with the truth about agriculture and food, so they can make the best choices for their families nutrition and values.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
We mainly market online using Facebook and Instagram, this has been a journey for me to learn how to reach the proper audience to expand our reach. We also have learned allot from other farmers on the regenerative AG movement, from people like Gabe Brown and Joe Sallatin. Farmers are always learning and trying new things to improve our business and soils. There are others of course, I am constantly reading books and learning from others on Instagram. I got my MBA after the Navy and there were allot of good books and case studies as part of that program. Good to Great is one that I still remember years latter.
Currently I am reading Principles by Ray Dalio, and just finished Mainstreet Millionaire, Atomic Habits, Mindset and Never Split the Difference. All great books that I plan to go back to and continue to implement the lessons within.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bamfmeats.com
- Instagram: BAMF2thebone
- Facebook: bamfmeats
