Aaron and Deb Gress launched Vintage Beef on Gress Family Farms in 2017. 

That was before COVID, before a new wave of consumers caught on to the benefits of buying beef from their local producer.

The venture started when Deb and Aaron sent out an inquiry on Facebook, and 50 people responded they would like to purchase locally raised beef. So they added direct-to-consumer beef sales to their existing farming operation of cattle, corn, soybeans and hay.

The first year they sold 10 steers, mostly 10-20 pounds at a time, working farmers...