Where’s The Beef? New Kansas Startup AgLocal Will Help You Find It

I’m going to break the code of hipster bloggers by publicly announcing that I am an omnivore there is nothing I enjoy more than a nice big steak complimented by some kind of exotic potato side dish, some asparagus and a beer. Yup that’s me. Sorry vegetarian and vegan bloggers. That’s why I’m really thrilled to hear about a new startup called AgLocal.

I heard some murmur about the startup and it’s founder Naithan Jones who left his job as director of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundations aspiring entrepreneur FastTrac program to undertake his own startup.

So here’s how this AgLocal works. Farmer’s markets are actually growing. If you’ve been to a farmer’s market in a decent sized community you’ll probably be inundated by fruits, vegetables, locally raised grass fed cattle, a few food trucks and cupcakes. You typically know where the farmer’s markets are or your local Whole Foods, but what if you don’t. AgLocal connects meat sellers to meat buyers.

Now you can order you meat straight from a local farmer and even cut out the grocery store. Jones and his co-founder Jacob McDaniel have been visiting locally owned farms across the midwest and have signed up over 100 farms already. The strategy is to connect local people to local farms.

More after the break



With the current economic state across the country farmers are always looking for ways to make money. They do farming because they love it but to be able to bring sales of grass fed cattle to the mobile universe opens up a whole new revenue stream.

Jones explained why the need for Aglocal to Foodandtechconnect.com

“Right now you have to pick up the phone and find a farm to buy from if you want local beef.  It is just not convenient, and as a society we have been trained to act on convenience.  The current system is devised for hard core locavores, but we have a vision that is further reaching than the lovacore movement.

For so long carnivores have had the choices made for them, and we don’t believe that’s been good for them or the producers.  We believe that giving the meat lover access to the supply chain around them is by far the best way to empower these carnivores with true buying choice and control. So I decided to start AgLocal to bring the “power to the meat lover,” as our tagline says.”

They are initially rolling out in New York, Northern California, Kansas City and Austin. Aglocal hopes to find locally producing farms in and around those areas, and has obviously done a good job so far.  Jones says that the reception from the farmers have been great.

“And to be honest, we are seeing far more willingness to work with us than we thought we would see and it is encouraging.  Basically, we are working to create an alternative to the very small and very large markets by offering more business to the processors in the aggregate without farmers going through a feedlot or factory farm to get it done.”Jones said