Local dry-aged beef farm, Forever Vos Farms, started with a truck and a dream. With the help of family, friends, and a desire to serve, the farm now provides local quality products to the community.

Early this October, the Vos family began opening up their homestead to the public. A storefront was built to offer local goods such as beef, chicken, and pork. They also sell honey, syrup, jams, jellies, spices, eggs, and other products from additional small businesses.

Forever Vos Farms is located at 7855 Fish Hatchery Road in Burlington, Wisc.

Lifelong farmer

John Vos and his wife, Ashley, bought the property on which Forever Vos Farms now resides in 2014.

Since then, they’ve added three children to the mix, who are all under five years old. One day they’ll grow up to be extra helping hands on the farm.

John knows a thing or two about farms, as he grew up on a dairy farm and then worked on various farm operations in Southeastern Wisconsin as he got older.

A lifelong farm hand, John says, “we started with a couple of beef cattle from our old neighbor. We love building that relationship from the farmer to the consumer.”

All hands on deck

It wasn’t just the Vos family who was essential in turning their fields into a small business; family and friends also helped it come to fruition.

“My neighbor, Mark Wilson, helped us out with the equipment since we started,” says John.

Outside of farming, John and Ashley work full-time in the healthcare field. John is employed as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Kenosha. Ashley cares for patients as a Nurse Practioner.

Keeping the operation functioning like a well-oiled machine wouldn’t be possible without Zach Haynes and his brother, Tyler. While they may not be related by blood, they add to making Forever Vos Farms what it is today.

The dry-aging process

Dry-aged beef is their specialty. It’s the process by which large cuts of beef are aged before cutting and trimming. The business allows the meat to age for 14 days before making cuts.

“We single source our animals, we draw all of our feed, and we single source our butcher, so it’s a consistent product and we pride ourselves in the entire circle, where we get our animals from, how we feed them, and how they’re processed,” says Vos.

Their beef contains no added hormones and the cows are pasture raised.

“We hold ourselves to a higher standard and that’s what the end result will get you, is a higher quality product because of our standards,” says the farmer.

COVID-19 increased local purchases

During the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, these small business owners and farmers relied on the support they received from others. Conversely, locals relied on this local business.

Due to supply chain shortages, people were unable to find cuts of meats on the shelves in big box grocery stores. The Vos family provided a solution.

“When people were scrambling for meat, we were able to establish a large client base. And we’ve kept loyal customers since,” says the owner.

Since they were already an established farm, they were able to provide.

“We set up freezers in our garage. I would limit people to what they can get just so I could spread the love,” says John.

Word traveled fast in a small town. Forever Vos Farms was stocked and provided through this temporary store base in John’s garage.

It may not have been up to par when it came to its presentation. He says, “you could see my workbench,” when shopping at the temporary shop.

Experience the difference

The public is now welcome to visit their fully finished and revamped building at Forever Vos Farms, where people can experience the difference in their products.

They are open Monday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Forever Vos Farms sells directly to the consumer with a variety of boxes, individual cuts and in bulk. Ordering can also be completed online.

“It says right on our label: experience the difference. That’s what it’s all about is knowing that there’s a difference in quality and knowing where it’s coming from. That’s what we pride ourselves in,” says John.

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