Today we turn our spotlight on Levi, Dana, and Kaeden Kettle, who owns Kettle Brothers Farm. The Kettles have been locals to Berthoud for 7 years. Prior to, they owned a farm in Bennett, but then decided to move when they welcomed their son, Kaeden, due to the great school, sports, and the charm of Berthoud had to offer. Before becoming a Colorado resident, they owned a farm in Kansas that they purchased when they were graduates from college. Dana’s Husband, Levi, grew up on a cattle ranch in Idaho and they continued his family tradition, one calf at a time, until they build up a herd of Limosine/Angus cross cattle. They quickly expanded into raising pork, somewhat out of necessity being that they were recent college graduates, just starting our careers and had a farm to remodel. They didnt have a lot of extra cash flow at the time for groceries and meats and at that time, pig feed was inexpensive. In the end, they decided that it was more cost-effective to raise their own products, rather than purchasing from a store. When they were getting into their business it was not a lightly made decision on their behalf. A little over a year ago, Dana made the hard decision to take a break from her high tech career in computer programming to become a stay at home Mom. She took great pride in being a working Mom that could do it all, however she soon realized, though she was doing it all, she wasnt doing it all well. The stress and lack of sleep took a toll on her health, so she decided to put her family first and focus on what was most important in her life. Shortly after leaving the workforce, they decided to have another child before it was too late for them. They always planned on having more than just one, but before they knew it, with all the business of life getting in the way, they were already 40. Not long after, Dana became upset with herself for not generating an income for her family. She comes from a long line of good Southern cooks, herself included, passionate about cooking and raising her own food. Given the many controversies surrounding food and the growing desire, from almost everyone, of knowing where our food is coming from, she decided perhaps she could combine the many factors and make something work. Their son, has become a part of the daily operations of feeding and caring for the Kettles pigs and cattle. Their dream is to teach their son how to raise and maintain his own food source, make healthy food choices, learn the ins and outs of business, and experience the benefits of hard work. Their personal goal is to form a good following and establish themselves with the thought that when their son is old enough, he can take over the farm to help him pay for college and living expenses. They think that everything combined; it will give their son a unique opportunity to learn life lessons and give him a good avenue for maturity. At Kettle Brothers Farm, they sell a variety of both hot and frozen pork products. Their frozen menu consist of pork chops, bacon, breakfast brats, and a variety of lunch and dinner brats including; French Apple, Garlic, Italian, Hot and Original. Their hot food items include: pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, chili dogs, brats, a variety of sides including; coleslaw, radiator pasta salad, their homemade spicy baked beans, and chips. Most of Kettle Brothers Farm’s offerings are all homemade from their secret recipes that Dana has been preparing and perfecting for years. Their best sellers this past weekend for their frozen meats were the pork chops, brats, and bacon. Their best seller for the hot foods was the pulled pork lunch that includes a sandwich, two sides, and a drink for only $8. They will on occasion have weekend specials, which will feature nonstandard menu items such as: beef brisket, caramel apples, and mini cheesecakes. They will also be expanding next year by offering grass fed frozen beef option for their cattle that they raise. We asked the Dana Kettle, ‘Why is it important to shop Local?’ and she replied by, “I shop local as much as I possibly can and there are many factors into my decisions to do so. I think it is important to support other local small businesses to make our local economy strong. From an economic standpoint that is the most important reason, however I find that what I appreciate most is the friendly customer service and the uniqueness of going into an establishment and having the owners and employees know you and your children and for us recently, the excitement of finally seeing the baby I was carrying around in my stomach all last year and complaining about the resulting heartburn to anyone who would listen. I also like to shop local because of the many food related illnesses that are becoming more prevalent. I was a child of the 80s with two working parents in which there was little to no focus on healthy eating or concerns about what is being put into our food. I lived on Top Ramen and TV dinners and it wasnt considered a bad thing back then. Being a parent now and reading up on the issues surrounding food, I quickly had to get into a different mindset. In our preparation for going into this as a business as opposed to just raising animals for our own personal consumption, I wanted to educate myself on the claims and different forms of raising healthy animals. Though we have never feed our animal’s hormones or antibiotics, I wanted to understand the negative aspects of it. It was enlightening and made me confident in my decision to give this a shot. I can only anticipate that these food illnesses and the end effects will become a much more prevalent issue as our population grows and people are going to want to know where their food is coming from and have assurances that it is safe to eat. I am hopeful that we can provide a healthy food source for those that are interested. We grow our pigs naturally and do not try to speed up the growth process and the end result has been pork with significantly less fat on it. We love to shop local and in turn, I was really excited and pleasantly surprised at our wonderful customers that asked us many questions about our farm and processes for our pork production. I was really pleasantly surprised. Berthoud is a wonderful town and we have been welcomed with open arms to the many things we participate in. Our first introduction into Berthoud sports occurred at Kwik Korner when we were taking our son to his 4th birthday party. John Ellis was there getting gas before taking steers to the fair and came up and introduced himself and invited us to check out the Berthoud Wrestling Club. Given that my husband was a State Champion wrestler in Idaho back in his high school days, we decided to give it a shot. I signed my husband up without his knowledge to help coach because he is a reserved man and I knew wouldnt do it unless he was asked. Well, we were hooked and it provided us with the opportunity to make friends and build life-long relationships.” We’d like to thank the Kettles and hope to see you all this Saturday at the Market from 9am – 1pm enjoying a pulled pork lunch from the Kettle Brothers Farm! If you would like a Vendor Spotlight written about you in the following weeks, please contact Caleb Jordan at boyofbluehorses@yahoo. This article was written by Caleb Jordan. Pictured is Dana Kettles Son with his two pigs for Fair. Black and White pig (Hampshire Cross Breed, born on January 1st): Chumley, will be shown in the Market Class and sold in the Market sale at the Boulder County Fair! Red and White Hog (Born January 25th): Sipsy, will be shown in the breeding and market class at the Boulder County Fair!
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:09:04 +0000
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