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Choose Iowa Muller family offers meat subscription business
By DARCY DOUGHERTY MAULSBY Farm News writer
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ometimes big challenges create promising new opportunities. Just ask Kelly and Maggie Muller, sixthgeneration farmers in southwest Iowa who’ve developed a meat subscription business. “When there were food shortages and empty grocerystore shelves during the COVID-19 pandemic, people were calling us and asking us if we had meat to sell,” said Maggie Muller, who raises crops and livestock with her husband and their four young daughters on their farm between Atlantic and Griswold. “We figured we could probably sell halves and quarters of beef.” The Mullers run a 2,500-head feedlot, raise hogs and grow corn, soybeans and alfalfa. “We believe in grain finishing for great marbling in the meat,” Muller said. As the family developed their direct-marketing concept about four years ago and secured the proper licensing in October 2021, they found new ways to market meat directly to consumers. Today, the family sells home-grown meat at Produce in the Park (the farmers’ market in Atlantic), plus they manage a monthly meat subscription business through Noble Provisions. “Noble Provisions grew from our desire to provide highquality, locally-raised meat directly to family, friends, neighbors, and our community,” said Muller, who noted the business’ name is a nod to the family’s heritage, which spans more than 150 years in Noble Township in Cass County. “For Noble Provisions, we select the best livestock, and the rest go into the commercial market.” Noble Provisions received a boost through the Choose Iowa Grants program. The Choose Iowa brand promotes foods, beverages and other agricultural products that are grown, raised or made within Iowa. Administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Choose Iowa cost-share grants help
Iowa farmers, businesses and nonprofits increase or diversify their ag product offerings, expand markets and shorten the supply chain. “With Choose Iowa, we’re establishing a brand that can be used by farmers, producers, processors, farmers markets, grocery stores, restaurants and many others to connect directly with consumers,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “Choose Iowa combines Iowa’s global agricultural reputation with the entrepreneurial ingenuity that exists in all 99 counties.”
Recipe cards add value A Choose Iowa grant is helping the Muller family grow its monthly meat provisions subscription service. Not only do customers receive packages of meat, but they get printed cards with recipes and cooking tips. “I look for recipes that are easy to make, nutritious and delicious,” Muller said. “I always ask, ‘Will my kids eat this?’” Extra resources like recipe cards (which are printed locally in Atlantic) add value to Noble Provisions’ products by encouraging customers to try cuts of meat beyond basics like ground beef. The cooking tips offer ideas for preparing short ribs, skirt steaks, flank steaks and more. Some of the most popular recipes include a Balsamic Beef Roast featuring chuck roast, beef broth, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. Another customer favorite is the Italian Grinder with ground beef, Italian sausage, cheese and marinara sauce. It’s a riff on the perenniallypopular grinder sandwiches at the Iowa State Fair, said Muller, who added that her Flank Steak Marinade recipe is also a hit. All these efforts are helping Noble Provisions grow its gross sales of high-quality beef and pork, increase sales of certain individual cuts and expand the business’ customer base. Home delivery is also helping the business grow. “We enjoy delivery days,” said Muller, who delivers to various southwest Iowa towns, as well as Des Moines and Omaha. Customers can choose the size See MULLER, Page 7C
131 Old Creek Rd, Storm Lake, IA 50588 1-800-227-1771 • www.nelsonsvetsupply.com Open Mon-Sat 7:00 to 5:30
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-Submitted photos
KELLY MULLER AND HIS WIFE, MAGGIE, are shown here by their family's beef feedlot, along with their four daughters (left to right) Clara, Vivian, Isabelle and Lucy. LEFT: Cattle line up to feed along the bunkline on the Muller family farm.