Farm family opens meat market in North English

NORTH ENGLISH — A third-generation family farm near Millersburg expanded its direct meat sales to a little shop in North English in April.

Montross Cattle Farm began selling meat direct to the consumer about three years ago, said Stacy Montross from the shop last weekend. The family opened the store about three weeks ago.

A steady stream of customers kept Stacy busy behind the counter Saturday.

Stacy and her husband, Chris, operate their cow-calf operation with their two children. They also have a few pigs, according to their website, montrossfamilymeats.com/.

Stacy is a vet tech in Williamsburg. Chris taught school at English Valleys for 25 years but now works full time on the farm, said Stacy.

Chris also serves as an Iowa County Supervisor.

According to a July 2023 article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the 2020 pandemic increased the demand for direct sale of meat, and Montross Cattle Farm switched to a direct-order model in the fall of 2021.

Chris told The Gazette at the time that people can know that the meat they buy from his farm is safe, something that isn’t guaranteed if they don’t know where the meat comes from.

The Montross family doesn’t butcher its own meat, Stacy said, but the cattle and hogs are raised in their own facilities and are processed by a local locker.

Montross Family Meats dry ages its beef 21-30 days, which creates a very favorable taste as well as tenderness, its website says.

Pigs on the Montross farm “are raised happy, healthy and unconfined with plenty of room to roam with fresh air,” according to the website. “This directly impacts the quality (both flavor and nutrition) of the pork they produce.”

Opening a store in North English wasn’t exactly planned, Stacy said. “We just kind of had the opportunity,” she said.

Meredith Carter owned and operated Salt and Light Market, a boutique, out of the building at 119 S. Main Street, said Stacy. The Montross family sold its meat out front during the Rural Road Trip, an annual event encouraging shopping at small shops.

When Carter decided to sell the building, Montross Family Meats bought it.

Business has been good, said Stacy. “A lot of people like to know where their beef comes from. And they like that it’s Iowa based.”

The North English shop is open Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.

In addition to selling Montross meat, the shop sells honey and chickens from Pleasant Grove Homestead, Milton Creamery cheese and curds, seasonings and barbecue sauce, meal kits, Great River Maple syrups, Laura Beth’s salsa and jams, Iowa Coffee Rosters coffees and other locally made items.

“These are all local vendors, Iowa based vendors,” said Stacy.

The shop also stocks and T-shirts advertising Montross Cattle Farm.