WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. — Alex Brown loves cows. She grew up on a sheep farm, but when she was in college, she started showing cows. Those cows led her to her husband, Daniel. 

 

What You Need to Know

A sixth-generation beef farm in Watauga County found creative ways to do well during COVID 

The family sells beef out of their garage 

They are also packing boxes and shipping the meat around the world  

 

"He was into cows, and I came up with him at least every weekend," Alex Brown said. 

She came up to his family farm every weekend. The now six-generation farm is in Watauga County.

"I can remember the first weekend I came here," Brown said.

A lot has changed since the first weekend she visited. She now has a 3-month-old baby. Her love for cows never changed though. She now feeds and takes care of around 250 of them. Alex and her husband work full-time and take care of the cows at night. 

"We're out here every day in the mornings and at night until like 11," Brown said.

They do this to have what they call the best beef. They say they are one of the only farms with a nutritionist that gives these cows a special feed.

"These pinwheel sausages are super popular," Brown said.

The business boomed during COVID when less people wanted to go to the store and more wanted to buy local. They sold meat out of their garage. 

"Sometimes I would leave a cooler out with 20 pounds of ground beef, and someone would leave their money or we did have outdoor markets," Brown said.

They also packed boxes and shipped them around the world.