Scott Port, John-Scott Port and
John Port work together
to raise Holstein steers for
their retail beef business.
John-Scott recalled that following
selling to those first customers; two of them
came back wanting to buy more. He and his
mom decided that they would try selling
cuts of beef at the local farmers’ market.
“That was a learning experience,” he
said.
Clarion is the home of Clarion
University and many of the customers at the
market had connections to the university.
They were very suspicious of anyone trying
to sell them food for their families. They
asked lots of questions: Do you raise the
cattle or does someone else raise them?
Are they grass fed or fed corn? Is the corn
GMO corn?
“I learned that the best approach was
to tell the truth,” John-Scott said.
He learned that people just want safe
food for their families.
“We attended that market for several
years. It was very good experience that
prepared me for when we started to go to
the Pittsburgh Market,” he said.
John-Scott and his father are both
Penn State graduates. They work hard
to insure that they use environmentally
John-Scott Port talks to a
customer at the Pittsburgh Market.
friendly practices
and have received
conservation awards for
their efforts.
They raise the
Holstein steers from
shortly after birth until
harvest. Recently JohnScott has partnered with
a large dairy operation
to received bull calves every week.
This should help insure that they have a
continuous supply for their retail sales,
which is the main focus of the operation.
Their first on-farm retail outlet was
a small shed behind the house. During a
freak storm it was destroyed along with
the machinery shed and a number of large
trees. The Ports constructed a multipurpose
building to replace the one that was lost
and it became known as the Beef Barn. The
building houses a garage, large office and
the sales area. Scott will probably greet
you if you want to purchase beef at the
farm. They have steaks, roasts and ground
beef available. The challenge is to have
meat available all the time. If you want to
purchase Clarion Farms beef in Pittsburgh
you will be dealing with John-Scott on
Saturdays at the Pittsburgh Market in
the Strip District. While John-Scott is in
Pittsburgh he makes contact with several
food trucks and restaurant chefs who
purchase Clarion Farms beef for their
establishments.
John-Scott credits his father for
finding the Pittsburgh Market. John had
noticed the Pittsburgh Market was on the
internet, and finally clicked on it to see
what it was all about. They learned that the
market encouraged local farmers to come to
the city to sell their wares.
“The rent for the space is very
reasonable,” John-Scott said. “It has been
really good for us. I have learned that we
need to provide the customer with what
they want — not what we think they want.”
Early on, when John-Scott was
pitching their beef to the chef at a local
lodge, he asked the chef what he thought
Cattle are raised in loose housing where they
are fed a balanced ration that encourages the
development of high quality beef.
he would like to have. The chef was hoping
to offer local products to his clientele. The
other local farmers kept telling the chef what
they wanted from him. John-Scott asked
what he could provide for the chef. They are
still selling beef to the lodge.
They are also providing beef to several
local restaurants.
“It hasn’t been easy but we’ve been
persistent,” he said. The farm is part of the
PA Preferred® state-branding program. This
program shows consumers that the products
being offered are produced within the state.
John-Scott uses many forms of social
media to communicate with his customers.
You can also find them on Facebook and
Pinterest. You can also tweet John-Scott
@JSPClarionFarms.
What began over 100 years ago as a
thriving dairy farm continues to grow and
thrive now as a beef farm that connects
directly with today’s consumers.
To learn more about
Clarion Farms BEEF
www.clarionfarms.com
Keystone Country
15