notable neighbors
ladue
Kent Evans of Ladue, who, in less uncertain times, is a commercial real estate developer, considers himself blessed that in the early 1940s, his great-grandparents acquired a farm. Now known as Pierce Creek Cattle Company, it is located in Lonedell, Missouri, about an hour south of the StL. Evans, 53, still drives his great-granddad’s Ford 9N tractor, which came off the assembly line with only steel rims, due to the rubber shortage of WWII. As you can see in the photo, the venerable antique has tires on it nowadays; it runs just fine. Back when he was wearing a construction helmet instead of a cap, Evans worked projects in the metro, chief among them the redevelopment of Crestwood Plaza, as well as jobs in Denver and Panama City Beach, Florida. Since the pandemic has had his day job on ice since last March, Evans spends his days ‘in the saddle,’ restoring 240-some acres of pastureland for cattle. There are about 60 head, soon to be more, since it’s right around calving season. “We’re grass farmers,” he says—adding with a chuckle, “and the cattle are really just a byproduct.” You may remember the concept of crop rotation from grade school social studies; keeping grass and soil healthy necessitates a similar approach. You can’t just let the herd graze wherever the heck they want. It’s highly inefficient, Evans points out. “If you leave them the entire grocery store, they’ll only eat the best stuff.” The rancher must move the herd from field to field. Healthy grass needs about two months to regenerate, so the roots mustn’t be chomped down to a nub. Meanwhile, the farm’s nearly 80 years of history are represented by something as ordinary as fenceposts. Generations ago, they were fashioned from cedar. As those have all but rotted away, Evans has been replacing them with steel. And there’s plenty of water, just not ideally situated. Suffice it to say, there’s only so much downtime on the farm. As a small operation, Pierce Creek cattle are raised and processed humanely; no steroids or antibiotics. “They live on mother’s milk and grass.” Marketing the beef is both old school and newfangled. Evans has about 300 residential customers among the 3 million or so prospects in the metro, and most customer contact and marketing is via social media. Remember the days of milk and bread delivery to your door? Unless you were born in the 1950s or earlier, of course you don’t. Well, Pierce Creek beef is delivered in much the same fashion as milk and bread way back when: from the butcher to your doorstep. What’s more, Evans’ business model doesn’t necessitate a stressful, overcrowded feedlot, dry ice and interstate transport via train, plane or semi. And as the land speaks to him, he’s more than willing to pass along what he’s learned to his neighbors. It’s not a high-margin business, by any means. “It seems like everybody’s making money except the ranchers,” he says. Evans et al. are working to change that. Visit piercecreekcattlecompany.com.
https://townandstyle.com/talk-of-the-towns-2-10-21/