September 29, 2016
“Where’s the Beef?”
By John & Joan Maxwell
Cinnamon Ridge Farms
“Where’s the beef?” I was asked this question for years by people interested in purchasing meat directly from the farm. Most of these people wanted to buy a few specific cuts of meat, not a whole or half beef, as is common when buying from the farmer. After seeing a self-serve, honor system flower stand in Chile, I thought I’d try to use that system to market farm-fresh products. While it started with frozen beef and pork, I’ve since added eggs, cheese, baked goods, milk soap and cutting boards.
We milk 220 Jersey cows with 4 Lely robots and make cheese from their milk. We sell fresh cheese curds at the store, along with aged cheddar and Gouda. We also add different flavors to the block and curds, such as bacon, ranch, or garlic and herb.
This summer a steer from Cinnamon Ridge won reserve champion in the Mississippi Valley Fair carcass contest, and our cheese placed first and second at the Iowa State Fair. Many new customers learned about the store from these awards and are very pleased with their purchases. Not only do people love the flavor of the beef, but they also appreciate that it’s raised on our farm without additional growth hormones, and antibiotics are only used when necessary to treat a sick animal.
The honor system has worked very well at our store. 
People come in, select their products, use the provided scratch paper and calculators to figure the price, and put the money in the slot. The store is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s a real testament to the community we live in that the honor system works and people can be trusted.
Our products are also offered at the Freight House Farmers Market in Davenport, The Depot restaurant in Donahue, Barley and Rye Bistro in Moline, Front Street restaurant in Davenport, The Brew coffee shop in Davenport, and several Quad-City Hy-Vee locations.
If you’re interested in learning more about our farm, please visit our website www.tourmyfarm.com. We offer tours of our farm year round.
