About Us
Three Forks Cattle Company derives its name from "The Valley of the Three Forks of the Wolf River" where its' headquarters is located. This location sits on the northern border of Fentress county in Pall Mall, TN.
In 2003 Three Forks Cattle Company was officially formed when Brad Smith and Tracy Beaty joined together in marriage. Tracy came from a registered and commercial cow herd and tobacco crop background, while Brad came from a commercial cow herd, commercial poultry and corn crop background. Brad and Tracy both attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and both studied Agricultural Sciences. Tracy concentrated her studies in the area of Plant Science and Landscape Systems and then continued on to gain a second degree in Agriculture Education. Brad concentrated his studies in the area of Animal Science/Science Technology with an emphasis on Pre-Veterinary Medicine.
With their love for and knowledge of agriculture they started fresh from scratch. Brad and Tracy decided to own and operate a registered seedstock setup. They chose the Salers breed to be the only foundation for genetics due to the breed's inherent qualities. Careful consideration was given to the direction the genetics were to go, since the resulting offspring would be the herd bulls and replacement heifers of local commercial cattlemen. The genetics need to speak for themselves, good or bad, in order to improve the quality of the gene pool. This is achieved with feedback from commercial cattlemen who purchase the cattle.
Industry changes, along with market and economic swings, presented a unique opportunity for Three Forks Cattle Company in 2009. Up to 2008, all bulls and heifers were sold private treaty to commercial cattlemen. In early 2008 the general public expressed interest in the purchase of a few animals for freezer beef by the half (where two people go together and purchase a live whole animal and split the beef cuts between themselves). By late 2008 more people were interested in freezer beef due to the health aspect of "farm raised beef" and fewer people were interested in purchasing replacement heifers and herd bulls due to the economic state of the Union. This market swing was practically textbook in nature - the demand in one area was met with the overstock supply from the other. The only drawback that could have happened, did. This drawback was a direct result of the economic downturn and it hit everyone-the availability of cash on hand. Some people didn't have the means to purchase a whole animal or didn't have anyone to split the cost with or they only wanted a few cuts and not the whole, half or quarter beef. Then in the beginning of 2009 the process was set into motion with the USDA and state authorities for Three Forks Cattle Company to provide to the public retail cuts of freezer beef that are all-natural with no added antibiotic, hormones or steroids and raised locally in Fentress and Morgan Counties, and the rest is history being made every day.
