Join Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee’s hardworking cattle farmers in celebrating beef this July.
More than just producing a tasty, nutritious product, the state’s cattle farmers are stewards of the land and do their best to serve the community and care for their animals. The beef they serve to others is the same they serve to their families, so there’s no cutting corners.
Tennessee cattle producer Mel Maxwell knows the value of working together with other producers.
“One of the strong traits of farmers is we’re independent folks, but we’ve laid that aside, and we’ve banded together, establishing rules, so several small producers like myself can put together a nice truckload of cattle,” says Maxwell of Cookeville, Tennessee.
Those truckloads of look-alike cattle mean bigger profits for producers and make cattle production big business in the state.
Maxwell, who used to travel the 100 miles from Knoxville to Cookeville every weekend to help his father with the family operation, eventually decided he loved raising cattle more than any other job. He’s now a retired farmer, but still helps with the cattle operation and serves as president-elect of the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Association.