It was a quiet march evening in 2015 when Joe and Meghan went on their first date to Ciao in Ithaca NY. Meeting only a few times 8 years prior, at Meghan’s sister, Marianne’s wedding. Little did they know the whirlwind of a life they would create together. Joe proposed on the top of the very hill they had met on. In a field that they harvest hay off of to feed the cows. It was a February day well into the negative temperatures and Meghan was curious why on earth they were going for a ride on the ATV. They were married in October of 2016 exactly how they wanted, with about 15 people in attendance on the deck of Meghan’s brother’s house. They purchased their first set of momma beef cows as a wedding gift to each other and began their adventure into beef cattle farming. The momma cows were all due to have their babies sometime in early 2016, and are still excellent moms in the herd today. Presently, Potter Family Ranch consists of 16 momma cows and their growing calves.
Joe and Meg pride themselves on raising beef for your family, by a family just like yours. They have full time paying jobs, spend time with the kids at sporting events and enjoy many off-the-farm hobbies. We have kids that do not live with us full time and do the vast majority of our grocery shopping at the store like everyone else. Many times, farming has been painted as a unique and antiquated lifestyle remembering times of old, perhaps the gray-haired husband and wife standing together on with the pitchfork in between. The image of the long days of small square bales to throw, ground to hand-work and hard physical labor isolates agriculture and seems to separate farmers from the public through its perception extreme differences with most folks’ lives. Though there is hard work, like many professions, Potter Family Ranch wants their customers to know that we farmers live our lives just like yours.
For the future, Joe and Meg hope to slowly grow their beef herd by continuing to raise the female cows to breed for the next generation of calves. The boys, become steers at a couple days old and will become food around 2 years old. We have plans to expand the pasture into the nearby woods with a goal of better land use and more shade for the cows. Potter Family Ranch hopes to become the place where local families will turn to for any of their beef needs. They are truly thankful for the customers who are helping get them started and look forward to working with more families down the road!