OWNER: CAROLYN FALGOUT • BRAND NAME: K BAR FARMS BEEF • RANCH NAME: K BAR FARMS
How did you get started selling branded Brahman beef? When COVID-19 hit, people didn’t want to go shop at the grocery store, and then when the hurricanes blew through, stores didn’t have electricity. But at K Bar Farms we have a special room separate from the house just for storing our processed beef. People can come to the ranch and experience a working farm. We breed them, grow them, feed them and take them to be processed. I highly recommend more people go see where their meat comes from. We do not sell any meat not raised on our farms.
What type of cattle are you using in your beef program? We do it all. We have health conscience folks that only want true grassfed beef with no grain at all. So, we raise purebred Brahmans for 3 years with no growth hormones. We utilize wormer, minerals, salt and hay. Because they take longer to reach full size without feed, there are no T-bone steaks as inspectors do not allow backbones to be sold past 30 months. We also off er Angus and Hereford crossbred cattle that are raised on feed in grass pens that grade as prime or choice. On average, the hanging weight on the crossbred steers is about 900 pounds, and the 3-year-old grassfed Brahmans average 580-640 pounds.
How do you market your branded beef operation? We have lots of repeat monthly customers, and they buy quite a bit. We don’t advertise too much because we sell out quickly.
Where is your product available for sale? It’s available at the ranch, and on the third Friday of the month (depending on the weather), there is a farmers’ market in Kentwood, Louisiana where we have a booth. We are dedicated to helping the community and providing healthy beef buying opportunities. However, we are a small family-operated business with a lot of cattle spread out over several farms, so be sure to call ahead and set up an appointment before coming to the ranch.
What cuts do you offer? What is the most popular? We offer a large variety of your usual cuts, as well as ones you don’t usually see in stores like ox tail, tongue, hump roast, seven steaks and dino ribs.
How is Brahman beef different than other beef? It is leaner than other beef and with a slightly different flavor profile. Our purebred, grassfed Brahman beef is even leaner still. We educate customers and help them get used to using frozen beef. We recommend that our grassfed beef be cooked low and slow. We highly recommend crockpots. You can just go to bed or work and come back and it’s falling off the bone. We encourage our customers to send photos of what they cook and send recipes, and then we share them on Facebook.
Are there any negative preconceived notions about Brahman beef from buyers? Some buyers didn’t realize Brahmans were a beef breed. They thought they were just rodeo stock. We have had to educate our customers, but once they try the meat, they are sold on the quality.
Are you retaining kill data to be used with other performance data in your herd? Not really. We have 350 to 400 head across three farms with only 3 full-time workers. We do our own hay and bailage as well as maintaining the farm and there just isn’t enough time.
Please describe the biggest challenges of owning a branded beef operation. The cost of feed is the biggest challenge. We wean our crossbred steers at 6 to 7 months, then feed them out. We don’t use more than 12% protein / 3% fat blend. We keep them on grass instead of in muddy pens, and of course, they don’t eat as much in the summer.
• 985-747-7001
• 63150 ANDREW BANKSTON ROAD
• AMITE CITY, LA 70422
• KBARFARMS.COM
