IBERIA — Thanksgiving is a time of congeniality, of quality time spent with family and reflection.
For the Sellmans’ from Rus-Men Farms Naturally Raised Meats, this year’s turkey day won’t be any different — except that they will say goodbye to a business that has, for 17 years, remained on their property and regularly attracted customers from all over the state.
Mendy Crim Sellman and her husband, Rusty, started Rus-Men Farms 17 years ago when they became dissatisfied with the meat sold in stores. They recognized an opportunity to raise their own beef, pork and chicken — even turkey — and turn a profit.
And that’s what they’ve done. Five years ago the couple decided to open a shop in their home’s garage but the couple had already been packaging and selling their meat from their basement 12 years before.
But the couple is ready for a change, one that is met with some trepidation. Starting Tuesday, Nov. 22, the store on Iberia Road just outside of Galion will no longer hold store hours and the signature Rus-Men meats.
Instead, both Cooper’s Mill in Bucyrus and Phil’s Deli in Galion will carry the meats.
Tuesday will also mark Rus-Men Farms’ last annual turkey pickup, which will carry out from 7 to 10 p.m. Mendy called the three hours a turkey frenzy.
“We have 150 turkeys this year. Turkey pickup is so fun. I mean, people cheer,” she laughed. “It’s the one time a farmer can feel like a rockstar.”
She said every turkey, which are fed non-GMO feed and have free range on the farm for the five months they are raised, are processed, or butchered, Tuesday morning — their pledge to providing the best, most fresh meat.
The pledge bleeds into the Rus-Men Farms’ new focus: to raise quality meat.
“The change is going to let us focus more on raising our animals, which is what we love,” Mendy, who is a sixth-generation farmer, said.
Rusty, who married in to the Crim farming enterprise 23 years ago, agreed.
“Probably 90 percent of America has never eaten a good cut of meat. And you can definitely tell the difference,” Rusty said. “We focus on the quality. And yeah, we might not be as efficient as other animal farms, but we have a better product.”
He said they try to foster a stress-free environment for the animals they raise.
“When they’re not stressed, they grow better,” he said, adding they put their animals — cattle, pigs, chicken and turkey — on a routine diet. He noted that most animal farmers feed the animals as much and as often as they can so as to produce more.
“That just makes them aggressive and stressed and it’s kind of sad to see. It’s efficient, but they aren’t healthy,” Rusty said.
Running a store will allow the family to focus on raising healthy, quality meat. Mendy said they have plans to distribute their meats to different stores across the state, even restaurants. For now, however, they will start with Cooper’s and Phil’s.
“I want to see how it goes, take it slow. I have no business training whatsoever,” she said. “We’ve done this all by trial and error. I want to make sure I learn everything and not have to always worry about the store.”
She said some of her customers have seen the transition as a failure, a notion she is unwilling to accept.
“It’s not a failure. Just a transition,” Mendy said.
The prospect of chefs using Rus-Men meats is a real possibility, she said. She is currently in the planning stages with a chef from Beechwood’s Cedar Creek Grille. A local restaurant has also expressed interest, she said.
Nothing is exactly set in stone yet, which has been a source of anxiety for Mendy. However, she is reminded of what it’s all about when she steps outside to the barn to take care of the animals.
“There’s something very calming about being out in nature. I’ll miss offering that to people. But it’s taken its tolls because you’re opening yourself up,” she said, pausing.
“Farm life … it’s a good way to raise a family. It teaches us about life — and death.”
The Sellmans very much believe in the importance of running a business as a family. With 50 head of cattle, 20 heads of hogs and between 800 and 900 chickens on any given day on around 850 acres of land, they need all the helping hands they can get.
Their three children, including one daughter-in-law, all help out on the farm, Mendy said. Many of them helped daily in the store.
“It’s just us (the family), we’re so blessed,” Mendy said.
In many ways, things on Rus-Men Farms will remain unchanged. The Rus-Men logo found on all packaged meat will represent prideful work put in by the Sellman family. The closing of the store is not the end of a good idea, but a start to new brainstorm — one that Mendy is excited to be in the middle of with family and close friends and customers.
In the spirit of giving thanks during the holiday, Mendy expressed gratefulness to all the loyal customers she’s grown close to and family members who are such a help in running the business.
“I’m in my fifties and I have no regrets. So far, life’s been a blessing, it’s been positive. God has definitely been way too good to me, that’s the honest truth,” she said.
