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Beneker Family Farms in Franklin County has been raising cattle for more than 100 years. Its current custodians are continuing this tradition, but they also are committed to finding new ways of serving their customers.

     It was for this reason that the farm was honored by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation as its 2022 Rural Small Business of the Year.

“We try to stay modern on our practices as much as we can,” said Allen Beneker, who with his wife, Jayme, now operates Beneker Family Farms. “The farm has been in the family since the 1880s, so obviously it's adapted and changed quite a bit. We’ve always had cattle, but the farm has adapted to the changing ag climate and the changing economic climate.”

These days the farm consists of around 300 head of feeder cattle and 500 acres of hay and grain crops used to feed the cattle, as well as pasture.

Although the Benekers have always had cattle, it was Allen and Jayme who started selling beef directly to consumers.

“We had people reaching out and contacting us, asking do we sell halves or wholes or quarters,” Jayme explained, referring to the traditional practice of selling sections of a beef carcass. “All the questions spurred us into beginning to look into how would we do that? And that's really how we got started.”

While the Benekers continue to offer on-farm sales of wholes, halves, quarters, eighths and sixteenths, they have expanded their marketing in several ways:

• Sales through their website. “We can reach most of the U.S. through two-day ground delivery. That is really our wheelhouse,” Jayme said. “But if they want to pick it up here, they just go online and put the order together and then they get a 20% discount,” she added.
• Individual cuts such as steaks, ground beef and roasts.
• “Bounty boxes,” which are collections of beef that fit a specific theme, such as “Weeknight Warrior,” “Meat Lovers” and “Family Night.”
• While 85% to 90% of their sales are to individuals and families, the Benekers also work with food trucks and caterers.

  “We really enjoy that,” Jayme said. “Those business relationships are really personal, and so we're going to be traveling with our food trucks and some of our small catering clients to get out and meet more people, share our story and kind of put a face to the name.”

• Using a USDA-certified processor, which allows them to sell their beef in nearby Ohio.
• Participating in the Hoosier Harvest Market, an online co-op owned by local farmers that serves the Greenfield, Versailles, Greensburg and Batesville areas.

Both Allen and Jayme attribute much of their success in innovating to the Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), which has over the years acted as a free consultant on many topics, including grant applications and marketing.

“I don't know that the ag community is aware of them,” Allen said. “Whether you’re thinking about flowers or another specialty crop or whatever, there are huge advantages in reaching out to them. They have access to a lot of resources, and they offer a lot of services at no cost.”

The Benekers also give a lot of credit to their customers, who have “cheered us on and helped the business evolve and grow,” Allen said.

“We wouldn't be where we are today, doing what we're doing the way we're doing it, if the idea hadn't been suggested by people who’ve been coming back to buy beef from us for years,” Jayme added.