Meet James Terrell | Grass Fed Beef Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Terrell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The long road home.

Since I was a young boy, I always loved working with my father and grandfather on the ranch started by my great-grandfather in the 1930s near Stephenville. Ranching is hard, endless work. At the end of the day, we knew whatever price our calves brought at auction — as they headed to someone’s feedlot – would cover only a portion of the costs of maintaining the land, cattle, equipment, and infrastructure.

I asked my Dad, who was a brilliant man, to educate me about the costs of running the ranch. His response: “You don’t want to know.”

After graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in Range Science, I fell into a 37-year career in agricultural policy in Washington, D.C. and Austin. The big lessons I learned: Agriculture is capital-intensive, vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and cyclical prices, and producers are the ultimate price-takers with almost no leverage in the marketplace.

I knew there had to be a better way to produce and market beef that would get us closer to consumers and provide a better return to help sustain the land and ranching operation. Grass fed beef had already become popular in the U.S., but we were producing less than we were consuming in this country.

I consulted with industry pioneers who said they knew we could produce grass fed beef, but the big problem would be finding markets.

That was the challenge I needed to hear. We had the experience, the cattle, and tons of native Texas tall grasses. In 2017, I started holding back some of our calves to begin producing grass fed beef to sell directly to consumers – farm-to-table. A few years later, I formed Terrell Farms, LLC in partnership with my 86 year-old Mom. Sales were challenging at first, but when the pandemic hit and the big meatpackers were shutting down, my phone started ringing and sales have been increasing steadily ever since.

Now, we are also practicing regenerative farming and ranching in an effort to improve our soils and sequester as much carbon as possible.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Terrell Farms, LLC could be described as a boutique, regenerative, farm-to-table, know-your-rancher business.

Our mission is to produce premium, grass fed beef on native Texas tall grasses, improve soil health, sequester more carbon in our soils, and deliver well-marbled, flavorful, tender beef directly to your freezer. Our animals never eat any feed grains or animal byproducts, and are never treated with antibiotics or hormones. Just pure Texas goodness.

Feedback from our customers has been nothing but very positive. A few of them have already bought their 5th side of beef from us. Folks are amazed at the freshness, tenderness, and flavor — even our ground beef tastes like nothing you’ll find in grocery stores. I would compare our beef to the plight of the tomato – it’s hard to find a tomato that tastes like a tomato these days, but when you bite into a great-tasting heirloom, it’s like “Wow!”

We sell our beef in quarters, halves, and whole beefs, and personally deliver it to your door (masked, of course). We love meeting our customers, and this assures the highest quality care in the delivery process. We take great pride in what we do.

The amount of beef in our bulk orders depends on the animal’s live weight, and the season in which they’re harvested. Most of our calves weigh 1,100-1,400 lbs. at harvest. After processing and hanging, a quarter usually produces over 100 lbs. of finished beef, and a half usually produces over 200 lbs. Our pricing is based on weight.

Since we’ve transitioned to raising grass fed beef, we’ve found that raising our calves to 2.5 years of age greatly improves the flavor and tenderness of our beef by increasing marbling and intermuscular fat. The beef is still relatively lean, but with an incredible taste.

At harvest time, we take all our animals to a brand new, fully USDA inspected, rancher-owned processing facility in Evant, TX. There, they are allowed to dry age for 14 days to improve flavor and tenderness, then cut into steaks, roasts, ribs, ground, etc., vacuum-sealed and labelled, then frozen.

We are scheduled to harvest four calves per month through 2022, and would love to deliver a half or a quarter to your freezer!

Terrell Farms, LLC is located right on U.S. Hwy. 377 just east of Stephenville, 60 miles SW of Fort Worth and 95 miles SW of Dallas.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a country boy, I’d take them to dinner at Rise Soufflé in Inwood Village for onion soup and smoked salmon soufflé, or to Mesero for some shrimp ceviche, brisket tacos, and margaritas, then to Felix Culpa for some great cocktails and interesting people-watching.

Then we would swing through Fort Worth to hit Billy Bob’s Texas, the Stockyards, and Amon Carter Museum to see their beautiful Russell and Remington collections. Of course, this would be in route for a tour of the ranch and Terrell Farms, LLC’s grass fed beef operation near Stephenville, the town known as the “Cowboy Capitol of the World.”

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
For many farmers and ranchers, our ability to successfully produce food is rooted in decisions and investments made by our ancestors in acquiring land and doing what it took to keep it in the family.

My shoutout goes to my late great-grandparents, late grandparents, and most recently, to my 86 year-old mother, Barbara Terrell, and my late father, Dr. Jim Terrell — all of whom produced cattle on this ranch near Stephenville. To this day, Mom remains my mentor and partner in Terrell Farms, LLC and the rock of our family.

My goal is to honor them by improving the sustainability of this land and to help pass it on to the next several generations.

Instagram: terrellfarmsllc

Facebook: Terrell Farms, LLC Grassfed Beef

Other: terrellfarmsgrassfed@gmail.com

Image Credits
Cheryl Ostdiek & James Terrell Cheryl photos 1, 4 & 5. James photos 2,3,6,7,8&9.