Homestead Healthy Foods:
Building a Business on Values and Hard Work 
by Keith Richards 
(This article was originally printed in Southern Sustainable Farming, issue no. 23, Summer 1999, published by Southern SAWG.)  

FREDERICKSBURG, TEXAS--Deep in the heart of south-central Texas, where drought can squeeze the life out of the most promising dreams, Richard and Peggy Sechrist have been building an oasis of sustainability on Richard’s family ranch.

In only five and a half years of working together, this couple have established a planned management grazing system for their cattle. They use all organic practices for herd health and low-stress handling techniques.

They’ve added pastured poultry and egg production to the ranch, and are building a processing plant where they will be able to cut up chickens and fabricate beef.

Their ranch was the first to be certified organic by the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the Sechrists soon expect to have an organic label for meat certified by Quality Assurance International (QAI).

To market their products -- and those of neighboring ranchers with similar practices -- they have created a separate company called Homestead Healthy Foods. They’ve built an initial customer base of approximately 750 people by direct sales through mail orders, local phone orders, farmers markets, booths at fairs and shows, and small health food stores.

Despite working ceaseless hours on the ranch, Richard and Peggy have been more than willing to share information with other producers at workshops and conferences, and serve on leadership and advisory committees to sustainable agricultural programs.

Their accomplishments so far are a testimony to hard work and planning built on a shared vision. 

Following the Holistic Management Process 

It is befitting that Richard met Peggy while attending a Holistic Resource Management class she was teaching in 1994; they credit holistic management as one of the most important keys to their accomplishments.

After they married late in ‘94, the Sechrists went through a process -- along with Richard’s three sisters, who are their business partners -- of setting three-part holistic goals for their ranch. Even though it took 6-8 months to agree on the goals, Richard says it was critical to their day-to-day work because now every decision has a clear foundation.

“Our initial goal concerned quality of life values,” says Peggy. “One of the highest priorities was to be chemical free since both our families have experienced chemical sensitivities.” Once that goal was established, it followed that the ranch should be certified organic and that markets should be pursued that would reward chemical-free practices. 
 
Healthy Pastures, Healthy Animals, Healthy Foods 

Sechrist Ranch is located in a “brittle” environment -- one where the yearly average rainfall of 26” can come in short bursts with long dry spells in between. The latest drought cycle has been going on since 1995, so the Sechrists have managed for drought by converting most of their pastures to native grasses. Richard says the native grasses have a high protein content -- as high as 17 percent when green and still 7-9 percent in the winter.

They run three herds of cattle -- one-year-olds, two-year-olds, and a cow-calf herd -- in a planned grazing approach to pasture rotations. Richard says, “It’s not just an every three or four days you move ‘em system.” Rotations are based on a fairly sophisticated system of monitoring plant growth and recovery. He says they concentrate on building a healthy pasture “community” -- one that will support an abundance of microbes, earthworms, and diverse plant life.

The cattle are almost entirely grass-fed, according to Peggy. “As we have learned more about the changes that grain causes in cattle metabolism -- causing them to lower their pH and lose their ability to digest forage well -- we have significantly reduced the amount of supplemental feed. Now we mostly use alfalfa hay if we need a supplement. However, we carefully plan and monitor our grazing to limit the times our cattle need anything other than minerals.”

After a one-time vaccination, their cattle don’t get any antibiotics or synthetic treatments. “Sometimes we’ll mix diatomaceous earth in the mineral and put a little Basic H in the water trough,” admits Peggy, “But our basic herd health is excellent.” She says that their local vet is amazed. “He feels that our pasture management is the most important factor.”

Richard and Peggy follow low-stress handling techniques that were developed by Bud Williams. Peggy says, “His techniques make the cattle easier to handle and have a major influence on their health. It definitely influences the quality of the meat!”

Cattle are slaughtered for market at about 1000-1100 lbs. Richard says they use both steers and heifers -- he can’t see any noticeable difference in the meat. 

Chickens are Drought Insurance 

The Sechrists added pastured poultry to their ranch two years ago after a stretch of 18 months without any measurable precipitation. They figured that the size of their cattle herd will always be limited by rainfall, but their land can support more poultry. Richard says the chickens are like an insurance policy for drought because they can cash flow the ranch by selling 500 birds per week.

They started with 200 chickens per month and have slowly expanded to about 200 every two weeks. Peggy says, “Everything we’ve done, we do very small at first, on a trial basis.” That allows them to learn from mistakes while minimizing risk.

They are experimenting with mobile pens suited to a hot climate. Currently the rectangular pens are made out of PVC, but this summer they will try out an oval design made with rebar that will be lighter to move.

Consumer Education / Farmer Education 

“All our beef is sold as individual cuts, vacu-wrapped and frozen,” says Peggy. “That protects our customers and provides us with a longer sell time. Initially it took a little education to explain the value of a frozen product to our customers, but now they readily accept it.”

The Sechrists started out selling boxes of mixed cuts, but found that their customers wanted more choice. Once they started selling individual cuts, they ran into the challenge of balancing their market. Richard explains, “A cow is broken down into 30 separate products. Everyone wants the choice cuts, but 55 percent of the cow is in ground beef. If you sell all the choice cuts and keep slaughtering more animals, pretty soon you’ll end up with all your operating capital stuck in the freezer in the form of ground beef.”

Richard’s son, Dan, set up a computer program that they use to calculate their rate of return based on margins, pricing and volume for any combination of cuts. This has allowed them to keep their markets balanced, but Richard says it still takes constant monitoring.

Currently they only sell their chickens whole and frozen. Although demand for whole birds is increasing faster than they can increase production, Peggy and Richard decided they need to offer more choices in chicken, too. Their new federally inspected processing plant -- hopefully ready by August -- will allow them to cut up the birds and enter the wholesale market. 

Labeling Opens Up Markets 

Although they initially built their business on direct sales, Peggy says, “It is difficult to reach the volume of sales we need by only selling direct to consumers.” On the other hand, its hard to get a decent price by wholesaling.

The Sechrists decided to enter the wholesale market with a label that would differentiate their products and bring them a premium. First they tried a label that said “chemical-free,” but wholesale buyers didn’t understand the difference from “natural beef,” so they were reluctant to buy.

In January when the USDA ruled that meat could be labeled organic, they finally had the marketing tool they needed. Since applying for their organic meat label with USDA’s Federal State Inspection Service, two natural food chains have expressed interest in their products as well as a small grocery chain in a neighboring state.

Peggy stresses that the move from direct marketing to wholesaling is still based on holistic management goals. “We are not interested in becoming another national beef company. We want to build and serve a regional market, because that is our vision of a sustainable market.”

Richard adds, “We are trying to offer a marketing tool to other producers.” If the Sechrists do begin selling meat in a neighboring state, they will work with local beef producers there to come on line to supply that market.

Even as they enter the wholesale market more aggressively, they will continue to sell direct to their local customers. This is important because it keeps them in contact with the feedback of consumers, and it also satisfies their vision of creating local food security.

Values Have Created a Meaningful Life 

“You need to be driven by values to make it in this business.” Richard advises, “Competition is stiff and margins are small... It’s a hard, hard, hard grind and you aren’t going to make a fortune.”

Peggy adds, “The work required to develop this business has been tremendous and unreasonable. We probably would not have followed through if we were just trying to make a buck. But our business is built on our vision of developing a sustainable business, helping develop a sustainable and regional food system, and hopefully to expand consumer awareness about the need for sustainable communities. Building our business on our values has come from following the holistic management process. It has made our life more meaningful, fulfilling, and a grand journey!