When Rick and Rita Cameron got tired of paying premium prices for local, grass-fed and antibiotic-free meats, they decided to take on the task themselves. Now, they work to offer high-quality, natural and antibiotic-free, beef, pork, eggs and produce on their farm in Shell Knob, Mo.
Rick, who was raised in Osceola, Mo., and Rita, who is originally from the San Francisco area met while both were living in Las Vegas. Moving to Shell Knob was a big transition for the Camerons, “I was just done with the big city and chaos after spending five years in Vegas,” said Rita. “We considered moving to east Tennessee,” shared Rita. But, they decided on a piece of land in Shell Knob, “We visited my brother in Osceola, and found this piece of land,” said Rick. Rick has spent many years in construction and had a vision of building their home of wood hewn from the wood on the property. “We just planned on building this home, and we bought this property because of the timber that was here to build the house,” said Rick. He found antique wood working tools and enlisted the help of a few neighbors and friends to finish their log cabin home on their previously untouched property.
The Camerons have always looked for quality meat, and came to a conclusion, “I said, ‘I can grow this kind of meat better, and for less.’ We decided, the end of 2012, to raise eight little pigs for meat for ourselves, and sell the others,” said Rick. “We also worked on a garden, and then in six months we added cattle.” Rick and Rita have been expanding ever since.
Originally, they only wanted to raise meat for their own needs, “We were going to raise beef, and then sell the rest of the calves at the salebarn, then we thought maybe we should look at it differently, and we started selling the beef to the public.” The Camerons work with the consumers in their immediate Shell Knob area. “We sell our meat by the cut. The Shell Knob area has a lot of retirees or vacationers, and they don’t want a whole side of meat.” They are currently selling their meat, produce, eggs and canned goods from their home, and at local farmers markets.
Rick and Rita are excited about the potential of the local meat market, and are working at maintaining the supply of meat to fill orders, “We eventually want to build a store here on the property,” said Rick. Rick is currently building five farrowing houses, and separate pens for the growing pigs. They currently have a Hampshire boar, and a couple of sows that were acquired from the College of the Ozarks and other local farms. While working on these construction projects, they are keeping durability and management in mind, “We have the chickens on auto water, and the pigs, too,” said Rick. They keep their pigs drug free, and have feed specially mixed, without the addition of any antibiotics or medications.
The process of raising quality meat without hormones or antibiotics, and with good food is the highest priority for R-n-R Farms. “We are raising beef to 1,000-1,200 pounds – all grass-fed with no antibiotics. That’s about a 2-year-old animal, but at that size, you can get better size steaks and roasts.” They have a herd of Angus cross heifers which will soon be bred, and are also raising some Limousin calves. They medicate sparingly, and if an animal gets sick, it is medicated until healthy and then sold, “We won’t keep anything that has ever been exposed to antibiotics.”
The Camerons love their local community, “We have some local farmers that help us, and we help them.” Rick, whose family has been involved with ag for generations, is at home with farming, though his career has been in construction and Internet technology. “I own an online marketing and web design company.” Rita, who is new to farming, loves the gardening and enjoys growing things. She also produces a variety of canned products that they also sell at the markets, “We have some interesting jelly and jam flavors,” said Rick. For example, they have pineapple/strawberry, pecan, peach/blueberry and strawberry/vanilla, just to name a few.
In the future, the Camerons envision having a farm that is open to the public, where families can come and see how produce and animals grow. They are currently selling at the Shell Knob Farmers Market on Thursdays, the Cassville Farmers Market on the square on Saturdays, and in the Shell Knob Freedom Bank parking lot Friday evenings.
