"My agribusiness operates under the name "The Vintage Kitchen," through which I market and sell processed pasture-raised chickens and grass-fed ground beef."

The Quitman FFA member started "The Vintage Kitchen" after noticing the positive feedback her family received from others that ate meat from their farm.

“I purchase the broilers when they are ready for processing, using my poultry production enterprise as the source of birds, “said Elmore. “The addition of ground beef was made in 2021 when I purchased two grass-finished steer calves and had them processed into hamburger meat to sell by the pound.”

She states that her greatest challenge is customer education and awareness of the pasture-raised meat industry.

“In general, consumers do not understand the differences between my pasture-raised grass-fed products and those purchased at a retail grocery store,” said Elmore. “They often confuse pasture-raised with organic labeling. However, there are many differences, such as the conditions in which the animals are raised, the diversity of the animal's diet when pasture-raised versus a concentrated animal feeding operation, and the overall quality of the final product.”

However, she believes that dispelling marketing myths that consumers are bombarded with by the commercial meat industry is part of educating her customer base and a constructive outcome from her business efforts.

Elmore's successful SAE project was recognized as the Star Lone Star in Agribusiness at the 2022 Texas FFA State Convention.