Whether they’re butchering whole animals, crossbreeding lambs, or raising pigs, one thing is clear: Livestock work is as tough as they are. Meet three Hudson Valley women who are carving out unique careers in the meat space.

Slicing Her Way to Retail Success

Back in the ‘90s, Barb Fisher, owner of Barb’s Butchery in Beacon, was a vegetarian. That all changed in the early 2000s when she took up running and realized she needed more iron in her diet.

“I started buying meat directly from local farms because I was so grossed out by big meat production,” says Fisher, who spent her earlier career as a math teacher. “I bought quarters of cows for years.”

For Fisher, learning the butchering business took time—and a patient teacher. “I was part of a CSA with local farms back then, and one of the farmers did a pig roast,” says Fisher, who moved to Beacon in 2006 and lives there with her husband and two teenage daughters. “I approached him and asked if he could mentor me in how to cut meat.”

After a year spent sharpening her knife skills, Fisher put together a business plan, bought a building off Beacon’s Main Street, and, in 2014, opened her front door. From day one, she has been a nose-to-tail butcher shop that specializes in locally sourced meats from small farms in the area.

The interior deliberately sports a vintage vibe. “I wanted this place to be old school,” she says, adding that she currently has five full-timers working alongside her at the shop. “Our kitchen is open, so you can watch us cutting. I’m very picky in what I purchase, I want to be transparent, and I want to show our customers what small processing looks like.”

Photo courtesy of Barb’s Butchery

With a wide selection of grass-finished beef, pork, and lamb, and over 50 housemade sausage varieties, jerky, and hot dogs, you’d think Fisher would be all set. However, she’s not done dreaming: she hopes to make “really good pepperoni, salami, and chorizo,” and is in the process of (at press time) closing on her next location, a building in the heart of downtown Ellenville.

“I’m maxed out on space in Beacon and need room so I can expand into the curing process,” she says. “When this building popped up, I knew it would be a great next step for us.”

Tapping Into the Science of Breeding

Atrained geologist, Lynn Mordas, owner of Dashing Star Farm in Millerton, has meticulously cared for her lambs ever since she began breeding them in the early ’90s. She has also been an innovative crossbreeder.

“It took me 17 years,” says Mordas, who fell into lamb breeding in 1993 when a friend asked her to tend his flock of 30 purebred show sheep and never returned. “But I finally got a dual-purpose animal that is good for both meat and wool.”

The livestock on the farm, named for Mordas’ cherished border collie and sheep herder, are raised free range and on rotated pastures, with no unnecessary antibiotics or growth hormones. They’re also fed only locally grown, non-GMO whole grains and hay from two neighboring farms. “I developed this protocol with Cornell and Purdue, so they feed differently,” she says. “We’re careful about monitoring their nutrition—it’s a delicate science.”

Photo courtesy of Lynn Mordas/Dashing Star Farm

Mordas, who has four part-time employees, is known for her nitrate-free lamb bacon, seven varieties of specialty lamb sausages such as rosemary-garlic and peppered breakfast sausage (the herbs are from the farm’s large garden), and lamb pastrami. “I found a recipe for lamb pastrami from 18th-century Romania,” she says. “I tweaked it to make it my own, using rosemary instead of juniper berries. It’s delicious.”

Ever the salesperson, too, Mordas sells her wares—and suggests recipes—at the Cold Spring farmers’ market on Saturdays and at Beacon’s market on Sundays. She also distributes her products wholesale to restaurants and says there’s no better place to be a farmer than the Hudson Valley.

“My farm is in a neighborhood that’s one of only two historic districts designated for agriculture, in New York State” she says. “We collaborate on what we’re doing, which is really wonderful.”

Creating Artisanal Charcuterie

When Ruby Duke envisioned Raven & Boar in East Chatham, the goal was to have a diversified farm with rabbits, lamb, and other animals. Now, she’s completely committed to her 100 heritage-breed pigs grown year-round.

“It’s important to focus entirely on their genetics, their lifestyle, and the products we’re making” says Duke, who owned a furniture design and manufacturing company before founding the farm in 2009. This includes feeding them grains, grass, vegetables, fruits, and naturally foraged roots and acorns. Each herd is also raised in an open pasture and forest.

And, while it took some time, Duke was able to finalize her own USDA facility right on the farm’s property two years ago. Now, she can produce her own charcuterie, like pancetta, salami, and seasonal garlic scape or rosemary sausage, on-site. Another customer favorite is her whole hog sausage—which includes kidney, jowl, heart, liver, and tongue—and such specialty cuts as lollipop shank.

Photo courtesy of Raven & Boar

“We now have complete control over the source material,” says Duke, who has four employees working with her. “Our goal is to have as little waste as possible and help our customers enjoy every part of the pig.”

These days, Duke sells her products directly to shops and restaurants and to customers at farmers’ markets in Hudson and Brooklyn. “We’re trying to capture the terroir of the Hudson Valley,” she says. “This region has its own energy, and farmers provide a tight network where we support each other.”

While Duke didn’t set out to be a pig farmer, this work aligns perfectly with her personal mission. “I truly believe you should know your farmer and know your food,” she says. “The closer you can get to knowing what you’re eating and where it’s coming from, the better this will be for the environment, for our food culture, and for our health.”

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