Bostwick, GA

In Morgan County, it’s truly a labor of love for Stan and Vanessa Nabors, owners of Faithway Cattle – a family run cattle operation that specializes in farm to table beef. It was journey they started a few years back when after wanting to make a change with their operation, which, according to the Nabors, turned out to be a great decision for their farm.

“We started with just beef cows, did that up until seventeen, and started then raising beef for consumers. The reason for that was there was just not enough money left over in the calf/cow operation to be able to sustain the farm and make it worthy to keep,” says Stan. “So, we started that in seventeen, and has really been good for us. My wife helped me a lot with that. She’s the one that does the marketing, and it has grown every year. It really has taken off. You know, from the first year we harvested one, to now we harvest thirty to forty a year.”

“We’ve had great reception, the public wanting to know where their food is coming from, they’re wanting to support local, they’re wanting to have that relationship and also there’s a lot of people outside of just wanting to support local and their local farmer, knowing where their food’s coming from, is about the health benefits, so I will say it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done because I didn’t grow up in this, however, it’s one of the most rewarding things that I am doing, and so I’m very grateful for that to provide a good product, a premium product that not only is wonderful in taste but just the health benefits behind it,” says Vanessa.

As they stated, their business has grown year over year, which of course can be attributed to having a great product, but it also has to do with their marketing efforts, which allows them to show their customers who they are as producers and also gives them a chance to share recipes, management practices, and other digital content that helps build relationships with customers.

“What’s important to me about that is to be able to provide a premium product to the customer, that can have a relationship with their farmer and know where their beef comes from and the quality of it that they can expect of it,” says Stan. “The public has really brought it to light, you know, that they need to know their farmer because of all the issues. I think they benefit from it, it’s a good thing for them and for me too.”

“Everyone deserves to have good food and if they choose to want to buy local and know their farmer behind it, I look at that as just an extra bonus too,” says Vanessa.

As for the future, the Nabors say that they have plans to take their operation to the next level but aren’t sure when those plans will take place – all they know is, just like in the past, they’re relying on faith to get them there.

“We definitely want to expand our herd and we are entertaining some agritourism to happen here on the farm and we both would like to have a retail store. Don’t know all the details of how that’s going to look, we both are firm believers and know that we all have a journey here and when it’s meant to be, in the perfect time it will happen,” says Vanessa.

By: John Holcomb