Mike Callicrate on The Cattleman's Corner

Listen in to this special archived 2021 interview by Howard Hale with cattleman Mike Callicrate. Who is Mike Callicrate? Listen in to find out! Mike Callicrate, the founder of Ranch Foods Direct, is a rancher, business entrepreneur and family farm advocate. Considered the “go-to expert” on the negative consequences of industrial meat production, he served as an advisor for the films Food Inc. and FRESH and for several best-selling books including Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore’s Dilemma. A native of Evergreen, Colorado, he earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Colorado State University in 1975 and then moved to St. Francis, Kansas, where he began his career in farming and ranching. In 2000, he formed Ranch Foods Direct to sell high quality naturally raised beef directly to customers. Since then, it has grown into a prominent, well-respected marketing outlet in the community for small farmers and artisanal food producers from throughout the region. Today Mike’s farm follows a multi-species regenerative agricultural model, using the natural synergies between cattle, hogs and chickens to optimize the health of the livestock and the land. Ranch Foods Direct is a meat packing facility and local farmer’s retail market delivering healthful, high quality, naturally tender meats and foods to consumers direct from the ranch. Our goal is to foster a business that benefits both ranchers and consumers. Our processing and distribution systems assures incomparable quality, wholesomeness, eating satisfaction, and a mutually rewarding relationship of trust and responsibility between the rancher and you the customer.