KERNS FARMS CORPORATION
MangalitsaEstates.com - website
Steve Kerns
Kerns Farms Corporation in located in Clearfield and is co-owned and operated by Steve Kerns. The farm farrows and finishes Mangalitsa cross pigs to produce premium pork products, which it sells on its website MangalitsaEstates.com. Steve and his wife Becky also own and operate a boar stud and sell semen, boars and gilts to a niche market of producers. Kerns Farms produces and sells Mangalitsa pork, which is comparable to the Waygu of beef, to a niche market of gourmet chefs and distributors across the nation.
The Kerns Farms’ Choose Iowa grant project will purchase stationary and mobile cold storage to expand its mobile meat delivery service. With additional storage, Kerns Farms will be able to produce and store more products at a time, ultimately delivering products to more consumers.
Kerns Farms expects a 30 percent increase in sales of seasonal products, an increase in sales at farmers markets in Des Moines, Omaha and Kansas City, and an increase in overall sales. The farm also anticipates this project will cut the average time needed to pick and pack shipping orders in half.
Project Update as of May 26, 2023
From Steve Kerns operator of Kerns Farms Corporation
“The Choose Iowa Grant allowed us to purchase a new 40-foot freezer container to add additional cold storage to expand our Niche Pork meat sales. We had a 12' x 16' walk-in freezer, but it did not have enough capacity. We were renting space in a cold storage unit in Ankeny. We would have to make the 90-mile trip to replenish our stocks on a weekly basis.
We also were able to insulate a used Cargo trailer and put a cooling unit on it to be able to transport our frozen meat from the processors to our freezer. Having the freezers on-site allows us to personally package our gourmet pork products for our online clients and distributors nationwide. We produce and sell Mangalitsa pork, which is compared to the Waygu of beef.”
