We’re in the Hudson Valley, between the Berkshire mountain range and the Adirondack foothills. It’s gorgeous. Cows thrive here. The most beautiful time of year? That’s every day. One morning we looked out of our bedroom window, and we could see the heifers out on the lawn and thought, “Oh, boy.” Our grandfather started this about 1955 with a “herd” of one cow. Now we have 250 cows and 1,000 acres. It’s us, our son and one hired hand – that’s how we get it done. Most people would call 80 or 90 hours a week work. But we feel we’ve never worked a day in our life. Once we were told we couldn’t have this in New York. But this is as good as anyplace in the country, and I attribute it greatly to the Certified Angus Beef® brand.In 1905, enticed by an advertisement about Canada’s beautiful winters, Andrew Johnson’s great-grandfather journeyed to Saskatchewan from his home country of Norway. Once there, he continued west until he found what he liked: the rolling bushland that the Johnson family has called home ever since. Andrew, his wife, Laurie, and their four daughters all agree that Peebles is a great place to raise cattle and honor the land that has given them so much.
We strive to be the best caretakers and provide the best beef.
We’re in eastern Iowa. We don’t have fences here. We have creeks that run through the pastures – those are our fences. It’s the best place in the world to live. Getting up in the morning and smelling the fresh air and the wind blowing in your hair, it doesn’t get any better than this. Not everybody has this opportunity. We’re so grateful for it. This way of life teaches our kids how to be good stewards of the land. As they were growing up, they complained about doing chores on weekends while their friends got to do different things. Now our daughter says, “You know, I appreciate all the hard work that we had to do.” We were at the grocer’s recently and noticed that the whole meat counter was filled with the Certified Angus Beef® brand. We had a lot of pride because we knew where that beef came from. We knew it was quality beef.Yon Family Farms is located in central South Carolina. It’s a first generation family ranch started in 1996. There may be easier ways to make a living, but none better. Anything worth having is worth working for. And there’s been lots of hard work.
Our family often takes better care of their cows than themselves. We want our cattle to make the Certified Angus Beef®brand, and it is not easy. Only the top tier of our cattle make the quality specifications. Which is why the Certified Angus Beef®brand is not hit and miss – it’s good every time. Life lessons on a farm are endless. Our kids have learned to work hard, to be honest, to do what they say they’re going to do. Cattle have to be fed on holidays. And you can’t sleep in just because it’s raining. It’s important for us to do this together as a family. Just as important as it is for us to eat together.
