Moos & I Do’s
These two have beef with grocery store meats. That’s why they took matters into their own hands creating Meadow Oaks Ranch. Joe Presher was deployed when he first read about fillers in many meats. Wanting to do something about it, he called his wife, Brittany, and they decided they would try to provide high quality beef options for their family and others, even though it meant starting from scratch. They bought their property in Cameron in 2019 and started buying animals in 2022.
Since then, their business has grown primarily by word of mouth, so much that they have trouble keeping up with demand, even as an online-only business. Since he is still active duty, and the ranch is not yet their sole income, Joe strives to make sure all of his beef can be purchased at a fair price. “This is my way to give back,” he says. Although it wasn’t his main goal in starting the ranch, he’s considering it his retirement plan for when he gets out of the military.
Joe grew up with a dairy farming background, but the differences were enough to make it difficult to get started and find mentorship locally. He received a lot of help from the Farmer Veteran Coalition and plans to recontribute by giving seminars to those getting out of the military who are interested in ranching.
They have been choosy about genetics and have both 100% grass-fed and grain-finished options. “A lot of people don’t know if cattle are eating good quality grass, they can have good marbling, too,” says Joe. Their cows are raised in open pastures and the Preshers pride themselves on responsible practices. Most of their time is spent ensuring the pastures are in great shape but Joe says with the right equipment and a proactive approach, beef cattle can be fairly self-sufficient.
In addition to their own acreage, Joe works with some other ranchers too, pooling resources. “We try to keep everything transparent,” he says. They also use spent brewers grain from both Hatchet Brewing Co. and Railhouse Brewery, making it an udderly patriotic operation. You’ll also find their meat sold at Railhouse Brewing on Sundays, during their “Sunday Suppers.”
Those interested in purchasing beef either in packages or as individual cuts, can visit the Meadow Oaks Ranch website to see what’s available.
But you haven’t herd it all yet. Brittany’s passion project is opening a wedding venue on the property, which is currently under construction. And because apparently nothing intimidates this couple, they are also building it all themselves with the help of Joe’s brother.
The barn style venue is 68×60 and is being built with local rough cut lumber. It will include two bathrooms, a kitchen, an upstairs bridal suite, a back porch and roll up garage doors. The building and website could be finished by winter.
The venue will overlook a pond as well as cow pastures, including a small pasture with a few adorable Highland cows, that will be available for photoshoots.
“I want my kids to grow up knowing what comes from hard work. I want them to learn to be stewards of the land,” says Joe. “We love cows, we wouldn’t have it any other way,” says Brittany.
