Lexington, KY - Hal Akers was not from a farming family, but some things are perhaps meant to happen. As a student at Centre College, he spent his free time visiting the stockyards of Danville, Ky., and just “hanging out.” Slowly, he picked up knowledge about the cattle business. Something about the industry intrigued him, and after college, he entered the cattle-farming business in Garrard County. Now, 18 years later, he is a fine example of someone who is succeeding and growing his Akers Aged Angus Beef (www.akersbeef.com) by focusing on a niche in an important Kentucky industry.
To appreciate what Akers is doing, it’s useful to understand what is going on in the Kentucky beef-cattle industry. The state of Kentucky is the largest beef-cattle producer east of the Mississippi and ranks eighth nationally, with more than 2.3 million cattle in 2010, including 1.1 million beef cattle. There are approximately 38,000 cattle farms in Kentucky, which ranks fifth nationally in total number of cattle farms. The majority of these are family-owned farms.
Furthermore, cattle are the fifth-largest agricultural commodity in Kentucky. An important industry association is the Kentucky Beef Council (www.kybeef.com). The organization’s mission is to fund research, promote beef and educate consumers. Raising beef cattle is one part of the economic equation. However, another part is adding further value through processing and keeping that additional economic benefit in state.
An important foundation for Akers’ cattle business is his 2,000-acre family farm in Hubble, Ky., located in Garrard County near Lancaster. The cattle he raises are purebred Black Angus Cattle, which is a breed developed generations ago in Scotland.
A high-quality breed raised on high-quality farmland by an expert operation like Akers’ is a great place to start. The cattle are also fed a proprietary Akers feed blend to further ensure quality and consistency.
Beyond that, Akers decided to get into value-added processing — and more particularly, dry-aged beef. Dry-aged beef means the meat is stored without covering or packaging for 21-30 days under temperatures between 32°F and 34°F, along with closely controlled humidity and air flow. This dry-aging process improves taste and tenderness but also results in some shrinkage, with the latter issue being one reason few in the business do it. However, Akers saw this as a way to differentiate his product. This “old world process” of aging results in a product that cannot be duplicated by another process.
To achieve this, Akers built a 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art processing facility in 2010. It is an all-encompassing facility — from kill room to shipping — and also includes a retail storefront named the Hubble Meat Market.
In addition to its core activity of processing cattle, the facility handles some seasonal processing of deer and elk. Like any good operation, the Akers Beef enterprise is a team effort. Key team members include (but are not limited to) farm manager Sam Lawson, meat cutter/butcher Ryan Hardin and marketing representative Genie Akin.
The Akers beef operation has multiple products and customer segments. Currently, they supply to three well-known central Kentucky restaurants: Bellini’s and Jonathan’s of Lexington and Mermaids in Danville. They fully expect this segment to grow. Another distribution channel is the online sale of their products, plus the gift pack segment. Customers can order ribeyes, filets, T-bones, sirloins and strips, and Akers also sells assortment packs. One example is the Akers Favorite, which includes four New York Strip Steaks, four ribeyes and two T-bones.
Hubble Meat Market is just off Highway 27 on 95 White Oak in Hubble, Ky. It offers a wide range of meat cuts, including beef, chicken, pork, store-made hot and mild sausages and brats, and frozen frog legs, catfish and shrimp. They also produce and sell a high-quality Hubble beef jerky product.
Akers Aged Angus Beef has a website (www.akersbeef.com) and a Facebook page. In addition, an informative video about the business can be found on YouTube (Akers_Aged_Angus_Beef). The company can also be followed on www.linkedin.com.
In the words of Alison Smith, director of marketing for the Kentucky Beef Council, “We are excited to see cattlemen like Hal Akers working to provide consumers with even more beef options.”
If you want to go beef and go Kentucky, then Akers Aged Angus Beef should be in your playbook.