Ashley Ryan enjoys the process of taking care of livestock and providing farm-fresh meat for local customers.

She and her husband, Tony, raise cattle, pigs and chickens on their farm near New Hartford in east-central Missouri.

“Mostly we do pasture raising,” she said about the cattle and the pigs.

Her family farm is called New Hartford Farm Co., and they sell their meat directly to consumers.

“Our biggest portion of it is our quarter, half and whole beef sections, and those half and whole hogs,” Ryan said.

Her customer base has grown through word of mouth, as well as her marketing efforts in person and online. She goes to the farmers market in Lake St. Louis every Saturday morning in the fall, allowing her to meet new customers and provide more information about her family farm.

“I t

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