On Friday, Oct. 4, current Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack returned to World Dairy Expo to say he accepted that challenge to develop strategies that help small and midsized operations continue to be in business.

The concept of Agriculture of the Middle is to create long-term relationships between farmers and local processors, retailers and distributors to help farmers receive a fairer price for what they produce, as well as to make sure that food is consumed in the area it is made.

With the price of cattle and beef often in flux, wise producers are always looking for ways to build financial resiliency. One way to capture the most value out of cattle is to process them and market the meat directly to customers.

“I’m just a farmer,” says Andrew Donnell. But this farmer does much more than your typical farming operation. Diversification is a huge part of the success of Donnell Century Farm, and will continue to be for future generations.

“It is another piece of the puzzle for the next generation,” says Pat Wiebe of Deep Creek Cattle Company and Wiebe Farms Inc. in Buhl, Idaho.

During the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) convention, Justin Benavidez, assistant professor and extension economist at Texas A&M University, encouraged producers to consider their “why” before starting this new venture and provided some answers to questions that often arise when getting started.