"MEAT" Your Kentucky Beef Farmers
Kentucky is home to over 1.16 million beef cows with a total cattle inventory of some 2.40 million head. Cattle producers generate more than $605 million dollars in cash sale receipts in 2007. The important thing to remember about the cash receipts from cattle is that these dollars stay in Kentucky to support the state economy, according to Alison Smith. Kentucky beef farmers are also national leaders in natural resource conservation.” Kentucky beef farmers work every day to protect and conserve the environment and they are “Everyday Environmentalists.” We would like to tell you the story of a beef farming family in your area,
Charles and Judy Miller
Charles and Judy Miller, fifth generation beef producers, own C&J Cattle Company, a 1,400-acre cow/calf and backgrounding operation located in Jessamine County. Charles operates the backgrounding of calves and Judy is mostly in charge of the cow/calf herd.
One of the Millers’ conservation efforts has involved fencing off a stream on their land, which has helped develop a wildlife habitat area. In return, the Millers have access to public water for their farm. They say they’ve now seen quail, deer and wild turkeys in the area, which they hadn’t seen prior to the fencing project. The Millers also rotationally graze their cattle as another conservation practice.
Charles Miller is BQA-certified, which means he has completed a national herd quality management curriculum, and is re-certified in these “best practices” every three years. “The BQA program gives you the education, insight and the mechanism to raise as quality an animal as you can,” Miller explains.
They are active in the local, state and national Cattlemen’s Associations and Charles has served on the U.S. Meat Export Federation as well as the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which is the national organization for the Beef Checkoff.
Not only is Charles very active in the industry, Judy has also taken part in the Kentucky Beef Network, auditing producers for the Process Verified Program for sales in the Southeast.
Both are very active in KBC programs as well.
“The Miller’s are just one example of the way beef is raised to meet consumer needs while maintaining their commitment to the environment. Beef producers are on the front lines of the environmental movement and have always been ‘green,’ even before it became a buzz word because their homes, families and livelihoods are tied to taking care of the land,” says Alison Smith, director of consumer affairs for the KBC.
“Kentucky beef producers are also national leaders in natural resource conservation,” Smith added. To date, four Kentucky beef- producing families have been recognized as national or regional winners of the annual Environmental Stewardship award, which has been sponsored in part since 1991 by the USDA National Conservation Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
As the news and media show the beef industry in a negative light more and more, producers like the Miller’s realize the importance of telling their beef story. In April of last year, the KBC held it’s first “Meat Your Neighbor Educational Tour” and Charles and Judy participated as one of 4 hosts that media, health influencers and legislators visited. This tour highlighted 4 farms in the Jessamine/Fayette Area and how they practice raising beef and their environmental stewarship practices.
Henry Knight and Knight Family Farm
Knight runs 175 cow/calf pairs, replacement heifers and bulls on 680 acres in Jessamine County. Among other conservation efforts, Knight participates in the USDA’s voluntary Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP), which works with land owners to develop or improve wildlife habitat. When you visit Knight’s farm, his pride for his land and the work he does is apparent in the many conservation programs he has implemented, including restoring wild turkey’s to his land, restoring natural water sources and conserving the land that was granted to his great-grandfather, James Knight during the Revolutionary War.
 Knight is one of a U.S. Network of 750 farmers who supply beef for the Laura’s Lean Beef Program. Products from this Lexington-based company are now sold in 6,500 stores in 47 states. Farmers like Knight, who provide beef to Laura’s Lean program, raise cattle on all natural grains and grasses and never give antibiotics or growth hormones to their cattle.
“Knight is just one example of the way beef is raised to meet consumer needs while maintaining their commitment to the environment. Beef producers are on the front lines of the environmental movement and have always been ‘green,’ even before it became a buzz word because their homes, families and livelihoods are tied to taking care of the land,” says Alison Smith, director of consumer affairs for the KBC.
Tim White and Family
 Kentucky beef farmers work every day to protect and conserve the environment and they are “Everyday Environmentalists.” We would like to tell you the story of Amy and Tim White, beef farmers in your area, who own White Farm located in Fayette/Jessamine counties. Kentucky’s 40,000 beef producers’ workplaces extend over fields and valleys, and across rivers and Kentucky Bluegrass grasslands, so taking responsibility for the natural resources that surround them gives cattlemen the most productive “office space” possible.
The White’s farm is a 2,000-acre cow/calf and backgrounding operation where the White’s raise 400 cow/calf pairs and background 1,000 stockers. The White’s follow a number of environmental practices, including rotational grazing, no-till practices which allows the Whites to avoid turning over and breaking apart large areas of sod that can contribute to erosion and run-off. When planting the Whites also use a slicing technique which is much less disruptive to the land. “We seldom turn ground for anything anymore,” said Amy White.
When you visit the Whites farm you understand their commitment to the land – the farm is pristine, the cattle well-cared for with a separate barn for birthing that helps to keep calves and heifers warm during the birthing process. It’s truly a family operation because the Whites two young children are also involved in all aspects of the farm and have their own cows that they raise themselves for 4-H projects. The Whites also participate in Kentucky’s CPH-45 program, which means they practice specific animal care requirements specified by the program to pre-condition cattle before they are moved to the grower or feed yard.
 “The Whites’ are a perfect example of how beef farmers meet the dual challenge of satisfying consumers needs while maintaining their commitment to the environment. Beef producers are on the front lines of the environmental movement and have always been ‘green,’ even before it became a buzz word because their homes, families and livelihoods are tied to taking care of the land,” says Alison Smith, director of consumer affairs for the KBC.
Tim and Amy White are members of the Fayette and Kentucky Cattlemen’s Associations as well as Kentucky Farm Bureau, the Kentucky and American Angus Associations, and the Lexington First Assembly Church. Beef farmers are active in local and state beef associations and some have served on the boards of national organizations such as the Beef Promotion and Operating Committee, which prioritizes and funds national and international market development programs for beef.
Kentucky is home to over 1.16 million beef cows with a total cattle inventory of some 2.40 million head. Cattle producers generate more than $605 million dollars in cash sale receipts in 2007. The important thing to remember about the cash receipts from cattle is that these dollars stay in Kentucky to support the state economy, according to Alison Smith.
 “Kentucky beef producers are also national leaders in natural resource conservation,” Smith added. To date, four Kentucky beef- producing families have been recognized as national or regional winners of the annual Environmental Stewardship award, which has been sponsored in part since 1991 by the USDA National Conservation Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
About 98 percent of U.S. farms are family owned and handed down from generation to generation. So good business practices, like environmental stewardship, signal a commitment both to families and consumers around the world, since each U.S. farmer now feeds 144 people worldwide, Smith explained.
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