Young Farmers Build Dream Farm, One Piece At A Time
Look around the cattle facilities at Martin Angus and you see attention to detail, creative thinking and ambition. Every piece, from the automatic curtain system to the overhead fans that dry out bedding to the underground drainage system, increases cow comfort, feed efficiency and farm profitability.
Brendan and Elaine Martin are building their dream farm — one piece at a time.
The couple are multigenerational farmers. Brendan’s farming roots run deep in the Shenandoah Valley, while Elaine grew up on a central Missouri row crop and cattle operation. Now the pair have created their own first-generation farm near Mt. Solon, Va.
BUSINESS NO. 1: Registered and Commercial Cattle Herd
As an early age, farming was Brendan’s ultimate goal. His plan: skip college and start buying cows and land.
“I didn’t see the need to waste four years and the dollars on tuition to delay my dream,” he says, “but I realized, you can’t graduate high school and go buy a $1 million farm.”
In researching career paths, Martin shadowed a local large-animal veterinarian during his high school years. The experience fueled a fire within Brendan. He became the first person in his family to attend college, earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.
In 2017, Brendan opened Valley Herd Health, a mobile and full-service large-animal practice.
BUSINESS NO. 2: Direct-to-Consumer Beef Business
Simultaneously, Brendan began building a framework for his farm through heifers, custom hay baling and hard work. His reputation attracted the attention of a neighbor who was looking to slow down.
The neighbor wanted a young energetic farmer to purchase his cowherd and lease his 280-acre farm. Brendan stepped up to the plate. What started as a lease morphed into an owner-financed purchase of the farm.
“That was a win-win for us and the landowner,” Brendan says. “He had steady income for a set amount of time, and we were able to use our loan availability for equipment and cattle versus just the land.”
Martin Angus now includes their 280-acre home base and 600 acres of leased pasture and farmland. Their operation includes registered and commercial Angus cattle, as well as cattle donor services.
BUSINESS NO. 3: Large Animal Mobile Veterinary Practice
To add a new marketing opportunity for their cattle, the Martins created Blue Cedar Beef, a direct-to-consumer business, in 2019. The name is inspired by the cedar trees that dot their farm tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Elaine completed a course to learn the ins and outs of starting a small business. She selects the cattle and delivers them to a local USDA-inspected processor. After they process them, the beef is dry-aged for 21 days and packaged in 50 lb. boxes. She sorts the pieces by the cut and ships to customers.
“The East Coast is my main customer base,” she says. “Most of my customers have a little freezer at home, so they want 15 lb. of beef at a time to feed their family.”
Elaine uses a website and social media to market her products.
“People want a connection — to see you raised their beef,” she says. “It is amazing to me I can post on Instagram, people like the post and then buy something. I don’t buy groceries like that, but it’s been fun to connect with my customers.”
TWO-WAY STREET
The Martins want each of their businesses to complement, not hinder, each other. For example, Brendan’s expertise as a veterinarian has attracted customers for their cattle boarding and breeding program. In return, he is a student of his veterinarian customers.
“I learn every day by being at somebody else’s farm,” he says.
The Martins have borrowed and combined technology, infrastructure and ideas for their cattle facilities that increase productivity. In addition, they built an office and kitchen that adjoins their facility. This offers a professional and dedicated space for shipping the retail beef.
Brendan says he’s also learned a few profitable tips for marketing cattle.
“You need to market cattle, not just sell them,” he says. “If you haul cattle to the sale barn and just unload your trailer, they will send you a check. But if you didn’t check with them for a time to bring them, tell them what you have, etc., you’re just going to be a price taker.”
Beyond learning from customers and peers, Elaine and Brendan credit their internships for opening doors. The two met while working at Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas. The couple’s ambitions are remembered almost a decade later.
“Their shared interest in improving beef production from the beginning to the end of the supply chain is remarkable,” says Mark Gardiner, of Gardiner Angus Ranch. “I know of no other couple who graduated from college and almost immediately began to pursue their dreams.”
ORGANIZE, PRIORITIZE
The Martins are routinely asked: How do you do it all?
“Planning ahead helps,” Brendan says. “We try to never put ourselves in a jam. We do a lot of preventative maintenance. Elaine can do just about everything I can do on the farm, so we divide up a lot of the work.”
“A lot of vet and farm work is predictable,” Elaine adds. “So, we try to use those windows of opportunities for our farm work, so it doesn’t negatively impede the vet business.”
In all of their roles, the Martins stay focused on their priorities, finding little ways to make big strides.
“If you do an extra project every day, you make progress,” Brendan explains. “If all you do is feed your cows each day, you haven’t done anything extra, and you get behind.”
LASTING IMPACT
The Martins know dedication is essential in business success, especially as young farmers.
“We’re young and our businesses are young,” Elaine says. “So, we lack some boundaries, but we have fun when it’s just us farming, and Sundays are a good time because the phone is not ringing.”
“We love agriculture, so that’s our fun,” Brendan adds.
As the Martins look toward the future, their goal is not to have the most cows or acres. They are motivated by their return on investment and creating generational impact in the Shenandoah Valley.
The Martins have a clear goal for their three businesses. “We focused on finding ways to build them together to generate income in related but separate ways,” Elaine says.
The Power of Diversification
Brendan and Elaine Martin own and operate three multifaceted businesses, which allow them to diversify income and maximize their connections.
Martin Angus: Registered Angus and commercial Angus herd, which includes 450 cows and 400 cattle on feed. They also offer donor cattle boarding and flushing. They raise corn, alfalfa, small grains and hay on owned and rented farmland.
Blue Cedar Beef: A direct-to-consumer business, offering steaks, roasts and ground beef. They ship beef across the country every week.
Valley Herd Health: A large animal mobile veterinary practice serving farmers and ranchers in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding counties.
How to Build Consumer Connections
In launching Blue Cedar Beef, a direct-to-consumer business, Elaine Martin knew an inviting website and social media strategy were essential. The website, BlueCedarBeef.com, is easy to navigate and offers a simple process for purchasing products.
“Your website is the billboard for your business,” she says.
With each post on Facebook and Instagram, Elaine aims to educate, inspire or encourage: “I try not to be too salesy. We focus on that we’re a family farm. It is humbling that our beef ends up on so many dinner tables.”
