OFI 1532: The Logistics Of Selling Beef Direct To Restaurants | Hanna Laney | Laney Family Farms | Re-Cap Episode

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Hanna Laney sells beef direct to restaurants in the Portland, Oregon area and first appeared on the Off-Farm Income Podcast in episode #784. Today I’m bringing this episode back to highlight this method of farm business sustainability and tie in with tomorrow’s ag business episode.

KEY IDEAS:

There is a level of the direct marketing beef business that falls between direct market sales to individual buyers and a full blown locker beef business supplying grocery stores and restaurant chains. That level spans a wide range, supplying local restaurants in the area that you happen to live

I have always wondered about taking this step and going to this level. And, as I have thought about it I have come up with a lot of questions. Do you need to slaughter beef every week? Do, you stagger your calving seasons to accommodate a weekly slaughter? Do you deliver frozen or fresh beef? How much do you charge? How do you get a restaurant to purchase from you?

I definitely believe that the jump from direct marketing of beef to individual customers to supplying local restaurants with a steady supply of beef is a big one. On today’s episode we get to speak with an expert who is at this level. Hanna Laney is coming on the show to talk about Laney Family Farms, her third generation farming operation in Northwest Oregon.

Hanna’s parents started this beef operation on her grandmother’s farm years ago, and Hanna eventually took it over. Today Hanna personally delivers fresh, grain finished beef to restaurants in the Portland, Oregon area. She has figured out the logistics, and stresses the reduction of expenses in an operation like this.

Hanna will talk to us all about her niche, and how she, and her parents before here, built the business and created the market.

ADVICE FROM HANNA:

SAMPLES: Make sure to bring fresh samples to the restaurants that you would like to sell to. Let them see how good your product really is.

SPECIAL: Be ready to tell restaurants what makes your beef special. If you cannot think of anything, maybe there is nothing special about it.

BEST ADVICE HANNA HAS RECEIVED:

“If you get pride from working hard, you’ll know you did your best”. At the end of the day, even if you fail you will know you did everything you could.

PERSONAL HABIT THAT HELPS HANNA SUCCEED:

Hanna loves being outside. This puts her in front of her cattle more often, and it keeps her in closer touch with what is going on with her herd. This is a key element to her keeping her expenses down.