Meet Jordan May from Black Hat Beef
We’re so excited to announce that Jordan May, from Black Hat Beef in Rose Bud, Arkansas, is sponsoring the meat for The Team #AhhTownley BBQ competitions. It’s especially exciting because their beef is raised ethically and grass fed. Here is a little info about Jordan and his family.
Black Hat Beef
The May family has been farming in Rose Bud, Arkansas, for as long as anyone in the area can remember. The current ranch of over 700 acres was purchased back in the early 1970s and has been used to produce forages, hay, and beef cattle. Of course, there is always a horse or two around as well.
Black Hat Beef was established by Kenneth May (father) and Jordan May (son). Both father and son were raised in Rose Bud and involved with agriculture when they were young. Both worked on the farm and were very active at all levels in FFA. Both went to the University of Arkansas and graduated with agricultural master’s degrees: Kenneth in agronomy and Jordan in Animal Science. Both have retired from military service. Jordan has recently retired from 20 years of active duty service.
Father and son were both concerned with adapting to the changes in agricultural production over the years. Most of the money spent by consumers at the grocery store does not make it to the producer, which makes it hard to have a farming operation that can support a family without an off-the-farm job. Traditional commercial farming can be costly with feed, fertilizer, and fuel costs.
New farming methods have been developed that allow farmers and ranchers to be more environmentally responsible while also being more economically efficient by establishing a year-round grazing program, limiting animal handling, and decreasing fuel needs with decreased transport needs. To meet all of these changes, Black Hat Beef was founded in late 2019.
Black Hat Beef continues to look for ways to change its production to be more efficient and environmentally friendly. They concentrate on developing and establishing quality supplemental forages that provide nutrition for both the animal and the soil. They use rotational grazing to be more efficient in not only grazing but as a weed control method, too. When it comes to getting their beef to consumers, they deliver to our local region. They want customers to be confident that they are purchasing a quality local product so that they can feel good about where and how it was produced.
