Couple provides free-range beef at farmers market

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BY LIZ STINSON / Lincoln Journal Star

She was a fashion merchandising major. He studied accounting.  Twelve years ago, Marcy and J.R. Hollenbeck were set to be your average, city-dwelling couple.

 But things weren’t meant to work out that way.

In fact, since he was child, J.R. has known that he’d come back to the family farm and start up his own business.

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Marcy Hollenbeck cuts a piece of cheeseburger from Hollenbeck Farms for a customer at the Old Cheney Farmer's Market. (Ted Kirk)

The farm has been in the family for four generations, and cattle has been a part of it since the beginning. But J.R. wanted to do something different when he came back to Elmwood more than 10 years ago.

Instead of raising only breeding stock and club cattle, J.R. decided that he wanted to breed cattle for eating as well.

The Hollenbecks’ cattle are 100 percent all natural with no hormone, steroids or antibiotics.

The only thing keeping the beef from being certified organic is that they feed the cattle conventional corn rather than organic corn, which is four times as expensive.

Marcy said she believes that the product is still healthy and that the added label of “organic” isn’t worth the price increase for the customer.

The free-range cattle also roam  on the 1,000 acres of pasture that the Hollenbecks have.

J.R. said this allows the cattle to be in their natural element instead of being kept in cramped, dirty holding pins like many of the commercial feedlots use.

“I wanted to put the animal in the element they were raised in and not in a confined area like sardines,” he said.

By allowing the cattle to roam in an open area, Marcy added, it prevents them from acquiring diseases which have to be treated with hormones and antibiotics.

But they didn’t stop there in their pursuit of quality beef. J.R. said he uses a particular cross breeding to achieve the optimal flavor and tenderness in his meat.

 With a mixture of Maine-Anjou, Angus and Simmental  cattle, the Hollenbecks said their meat is on a different quality level than meat that comes from other breeds.

J.R. said he handles the cattle from birth to taking them to get processed at the USDA-approved plant in Diller.

“We do everything from the ground up,” he said. “If we get them (cattle) from a commercial place, there’s no quality insurance.”

The Hollenbecks have been raising cattle for more than 10 years, but it wasn’t until this summer that they decided to sell the meat at the Old Cheney and Havelock Farmers Markets in Lincoln and the Village Point Market in Omaha.

The timing was right to expand their operation, they said, with the kids getting older and the demand for all-natural products on the rise.

“We just kinda finally realized that there were a lot of people who wanted a quality, all natural product in beef,” Marcy said.

At the market, the Hollenbecks sell 30 different types of meat: four cuts of roast and 10 different steaks ranging from $5.39 for a round steak to their best selling bacon-wrapped filet of steak for $24.98.  The couple also encourage people to buy their quarter wholes and halves because customers often get a good deal on the price.

In addition to selling individual pieces of beef, Marcy has begun making gift boxes that people can custom fill and send through the mail.

The Hollenbecks hope to have ordering from their Web site, www.hollenbeckfarms.com,  running  by the end of the year, but for now, the easiest way to order is by calling (402) 781-2992.

The meat is also available at Ideal Groceries, Cetak’s Gourmet Meats & Sausages and Leon’s Food Mart in Lincoln.  The couple also hopes to find an upscale restaurant to feature their steaks and meats.

Reach Liz Stinson at 473-7254 or at estinson@journalstar.com.