We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Gibson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.

Elizabeth, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

A lot of people have asked how/why I named our retail meat shop 1840 Cattle Co and the simple answer is family! I was extremely fortunate to marry into an establish farming family with history attached to the farms and ground themselves. I was in the agriculture industry before I met my husband but never had been big into the cattle side of things and after a year of marriage I knew I wanted to be involved in some way that was a little more meaningful then helping here and there during calving season and having a few bottle calves when needed. I also knew I wanted to help diversify the farm a little more then what had already been done on the cattle operation side. I knew the legacy of the farm had already spanned generations and we are currently raising the next generation of farmers/cattleman/cattlewomen, so I wanted to pay homage to everyone who had come before and passed down their wealth of knowledge to help get us to where we are today.

The Gibson family can date cattle/farming back to the early 1800’s in Missouri and we can specifically date back to 1840 for cattle in the Buchanan/Clinton county areas, thus 1840 Cattle Co was born. It may be a new branch of our farms but it is definitely rooted in tradition and the need/want to provide for the current and future generations.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was fortunate enough to marry into an amazing family who have been in the Buchanan/Clinton County area since the early 1800s, which is where our name comes from, as we can date back to having cattle in the area since 1840! I was not raised with cattle, so it was a new ball game marrying into a cow/calf and row-crop operation. I fell in love with the cattle side of things, especially watching all the spring babies run around on fresh green grass, and I knew I wanted to help diversify the farm a little bit more than my in-laws and husband already had. They had always kept a steer or two back to process to fill the freezers, which was awesome to have great quality meat a few steps away and not have to worry about going to the store! Plus, with it being raised on our farm, I didn’t have to worry about what was put into the cattle growing up (growth hormones, etc.), where they originally came from, and any other additives that may have been added before purchase. So, in 2020 I asked if we could hold a few more steers back and see if anyone we knew would like to purchase a whole or half; they went fast! More people started reaching out about wanting to purchase beef. Then the questions came: I don’t have the freezer space, we don’t need a whole/half, or we don’t have the initial upfront cost of buying a whole or half, so can we buy a few pounds of burger, steaks, etc., but with regulations, it was just not possible. This sparked the idea of still providing wholes and halves and having individual retail cuts available for people to buy locally raised, hormone-free, and USDA-inspected.

I let the spark sit for a while as we didn’t have a great place to set up shop, so to speak; plus, I was still looking for which meat lockers/butcher shops were locally processed USDA certified, what county regulations I would need to follow, etc. Each year I asked to hold back a few more steers – going from just keeping an extra 3 to 8 in 2021. In 2022 Jeff (my husband) and I had the opportunity to purchase a farm that used to be an old dairy, with the dairy barn/milk parlor still standing. So, come January of this year; I was still going back and forth with all the pros/cons/difficulties that arise when branching out and going “big.” Jeff, who had been 100% supportive of the idea from the start, gave me two options, and here I am! We started the remodel of the front milk parlor, got the butcher dates lined up, agreed to buy the cattle from our family farm, insurance, regulations, etc., all lined up, and here we are! I have jumped us from keeping 8 back from the 2021 calf crop to 30+ from the 2022 calf crop back for the shop. We opened the first weekend of April and haven’t looked back! Our long-term goal is to sustainably grow our current cow/calf operation and sell every calf produced on our farm directly to the consumer.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Our market is a little different as we are still a relatively new business in a growing niche market, so word of mouth has been INVALUABLE! People like to know someone who has tried the product and LOVED it. Meat isn’t something you want to spend money on and be disappointed in, especially in today’s economy. You want your money’s worth.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Our reputation is still being built but we have a great foundation! The foundation was laid by providing consistent customer service and quality and those are the same things being used to build our reputation in the market. It is so important to provide great customer service – whether that be by a friendly greeting as they are coming into the story or quick timely responses to messages or inquiries. Everyone’s time is valuable!

Word of mouth and reviews are also helping to build our reputation – they each let me people know that people were pleased enough to leave a positive review!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.1840cattleco.com
• Instagram: @1840CATTLECO
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.co/1840cattleco
• Other: Phone: 816-326-2444

Image Credits
Carrie Watson Co (all pictures)