The Three C's of Life: Choices, Chances and... Chicken?

Written by:

Blaine Ward: Marketing Team / Blogger

Some Choices are Easier than Others

For Dave and Amy Bachman, making the choice to start a business selling their own grass-fed beef just made sense.  Raising cattle has been in the Bachman family ever since the 20’s and 30’s.  In fact, it all started with Dave’s great grandfather, Floyd Merble Bachman.  Merble raised cattle and would periodically butcher a fattened calf to sell.  He would drive door to door selling beef right out of the back seat of his car! Now, how’s that for service?!  This, however, would just turn out to be a prelude of what was to come.  Dave’s father, Don, also raised cattle and even got his degree in Animal Science.  When Dave was just 16 years old, he bought his first 6 cows from his dad, and got a taste of what it meant to buy, own, and sell his own cattle.   What started out as a small seed that God planted into the heart of Dave’s great grandfather, soon began to grow as it got passed down from generation to generation.  Bachman Family Farms is so much more than a business, it is built on the cornerstones of faith and family. 

Chicken and Chuck Norris, Why Not? 

The big question is why, when business was going so well, did they decide to venture into chicken?  Raising and selling chicken in Oklahoma is not considered the cultural norm.  Oklahoma is known for a lot of things, but chicken is not one of them.  Our state is known for beef, oil, wide open spaces, and let’s not forget one of our most recognized monuments, Chuck Norris!  Seriously though, when Dave and Amy made the decision to raise and sell their own chicken; they took a really big risk.  Since I’ve worked alongside Dave and Amy, one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that you can come up with a million reasons why you shouldn’t try something new, but when you allow yourself to ask the question, “Why not?” that’s when opportunity is born!   

Risky Business 

Raising chicken, how hard can it be?  There is always a learning curve, when trying something new.  However, when Dave and Amy took the plunge and received their first batch of chicken, they quickly discovered just how challenging it could really be.  March 31st of 2022, they received 600 chickens, and of those chickens; 450 died!  As you can imagine, Dave and Amy quickly began to question if this risk really was worth taking.  Cold temperatures, rain, heat, and humidity (in other words, the definition of Oklahoma) were much to blame.  There were also the occasional predators, such as raccoons and coyotes.  With any business, there is always the chance of failure, and much to be learned through trial and error.  Dave and Amy stayed hopeful and took what they learned through such a devastating loss and turned it into another chance to grow and succeed.  Two batches later, with 600 chickens in each; and their yield was much more successful! 

Chicken... it’s What’s for Dinner! 

Oklahoma may not be known for its chicken, but that’s no reason not to love it.  One of the added benefits of ordering chicken through Bachman Family Farms, is that you know exactly what you’re getting.  Much time and effort are taken into meeting the requirements to sell regular and organic chicken.  The difference between the two, is what they are fed.  For the organic chicken, Dave and Amy drive 6 hours round trip to get the feed from an organic mill in Kansas.  It is important to them to make sure things are done correctly in order to meet the needs of their customers.  The regular chicken is fed a conventional feed that includes corn, which some customers prefer to avoid.  Although the two groups are kept separately, all chickens are raised with access to outdoor pasture from at least two or three weeks of age.  The Bachmans may have taken a big chance on selling chicken, but they took no chances when it came to quality.  So now the question is up to you.  Will you make a choice, to take a chance, on Bachman Family Farms Chicken?  We sure hope you do!