Farmers, Butchers and Cooks

We have a unique set of skills that we think is really important and necessary to creating high quality meat. In addition to being farmers, we have many years of experience in the restaurant and food service industry, along with owning and operating a slaughterhouse on our farm. This gives a different perspective on what the end product should be, more of artisan approach to the whole process. We are not just farmers, but food experts. Ours is a story of quality and craftsmanship, of dedication to producing the best meat available and commitment to our customers and local community.

Taste the Difference: Duroc Pork

The pork industry has lost its way. I watched this happen in the 80’s growing up in Ohio, where thriving family hog farms dried up, sold out, or went bankrupt during a takeover of the pork industry by giant corporations. Big Pork now dominates and controls the supply chain, creating a lackluster product in a factory style environment.

Commercial pork operations raise lean hog breeds with hardly any fat or marbling in an attempt to create “lean, healthy” meat that competes with chicken. In the process of doing so, grocery store pork has lost its flavor as giant corporations and foreign entities took over the pork world. But there is hope: the small farmer!

Thankfully, there are still great pig breeds, raised by small farmers to produce highly marbled, flavorful pork. These small pig farmers are dotted across the country, and we are proud to be one of them.

We raise Duroc Pigs, a breed known for their marbling (yes pork can be marbled like beef!), thick back fat and amazing flavor. Our Duroc Pigs are raised with access to the outdoors, where they can roam, root and be pigs. It costs more to raise pigs like this, but we think it’s well worth it and we know you will too.

We humbly ask for your patronage in supporting small hog farmers doing things the old-fashioned way – the right way.

Not Just Any Old Chicken

At the center of the protein world lies the humble chicken. This unsung hero is a staple of sustenance worldwide. At Dry Branch, our chickens are anything but humble – they’re the star of the show – and for good reason!

Our chickens breathe clean fresh air, live natural lives on pasture, where they can eat bugs, grass and scratch. They are fed a daily ration of non-GMO grain to create rich flavorful meat, and are never given hormones or antibiotics. Contrast this with conventional poultry farms where chickens are kept in confined areas, given hormones to grow faster and fed antibiotics every day in order to keep them from getting sick in this unnatural environment.

Our natural methods are better for them, and for you. It’s a difference you can taste.

Kentucky Is Beef Country

Kentucky has a long, rich agricultural heritage. At the center of Kentucky agriculture is beef; there’s nothing more classically Kentucky than cattle grazing the rolling green hills on a foggy morning behind black plank fencing.

Even though Kentucky is the biggest cattle state east of the Mississippi, it sends all of its calves to the Midwest to be finished in feedlots, supporting the big packing houses (that are mostly owned by foreign companies). With the amount of cattle we have locally, every steakhouse in the state should be serving Kentucky beef, but they’re not. Surprisingly, it’s hard to find Kentucky beef at grocery stores or restaurants. As proud Kentuckians, we think that’s a shame and just downright unacceptable!

We proudly sell Kentucky beef, where you’ll get beautifully marbled, flavorful beef all year-round, raised right here on our farms in Boyle and Mercer counties.