A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Mainly clear. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable..

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Mainly clear. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable.

Hit-n-Miss has about 200 head of cattle raised on the Plateau. Kenny Carey said the cattle are raised and finished at the farm, leaving only for processing at USDA-certified processing facilities. This allows the farm to sale individual cuts direct to consumers. That's a benefit for people who don't need a whole cow or lack the freezer space.

Lettuce at the market is from the Stone Memorial High School greenhouse, which uses hydroponic technology to grow fresh lettuce year round.

The jams and jellies are all made with Ann Carey's recipes. Ann was a driving force behind starting the farm store, with Fridays at the Farm held about six years ago.

Hit-n-Miss has about 200 head of cattle raised on the Plateau. Kenny Carey said the cattle are raised and finished at the farm, leaving only for processing at USDA-certified processing facilities. This allows the farm to sale individual cuts direct to consumers. That's a benefit for people who don't need a whole cow or lack the freezer space.

Lettuce at the market is from the Stone Memorial High School greenhouse, which uses hydroponic technology to grow fresh lettuce year round.

The jams and jellies are all made with Ann Carey's recipes. Ann was a driving force behind starting the farm store, with Fridays at the Farm held about six years ago.

Kenny and Lynn Carey have raised cattle on their Cumberland County farm for decades.

“She and I have been married 31 years, and she’s never bought beef in a grocery store,” Kenny said.

In addition to stocking the family freezer with locally raised beef, they also sold whole beef or shares to others, delivering the cattle to local processing facilities where the customer could order the cuts they wanted and take their beef home to the freezer.

Several years ago, Kenny saw that cattle farmers were being left behind from rising meat prices. 

“I wasn’t happy with the market prices,” Kenny said. “I wanted to get more out of the product.”

He decided to offer beef straight to the consumer, working with several local restaurants to supply their needs. Hit-n-Miss Farm, 5194 Plateau Rd., supplies beef for the Pour House, Brass Lantern and Community Table restaurants in Crossville.

That has grown to offering local beef to area residents who may not want or need a share of beef. Hit-n-Miss also offers pork and eggs fresh from the hens.

“We have a lot of customers from all over the region,” Kenny said. “They come and get packages every couple of weeks.”

Though he hears about rising prices for beef at grocery stores, Kenny said Hit-n-Miss has only had one price increase in three years.

Kenny has farmed all his life. The farm he now operates, about 260 acres, was bought by his grandfather and father in the 1950s. They had a small dairy operation that was sold in the 1960s, but cattle has been a mainstay of the operation.

The Careys son, Andy, also raises cattle at his farm, about 100 acres that had been farmed by Lynn’s father. All together, they have about 215 head of cattle, which includes commercial beef and certified angus cattle for breeding.

“He lives and breathes cattle,” Kenny said of his son.

The beef are raised on grass and finished with grain, which Kenny said allows him to finish the cattle in a 16-18 months instead of more than two years.

The change to offering meat directly to consumers meant finding a processor who met USDA requirements for commercial food sales, including inspections. He works with processors in Chattanooga and Hartsville.

“Every bit of our beef is grown and finished here,” Kenny said. “They only leave for processing.”

Offering beef direct to the consumer involves a lot of balancing, Kenny said.

“You’ve got to hit the sweet spot where you’ve got enough product, but not so much that storage is an issue,” he said. “We try to stay a month ahead so that we can supply our restaurants.”

The Carey Family had long participated — and still does — in the Cumberland County Farmer’s Market, selling vegetables from their gardens or canned jams.

But Kenny’s mother, Ann, encouraged them to offer Fridays at the Farm, where a small selection of beef, vegetables and her jams and jellies.

The vegetables are grown fresh, though Kenny said they have not pursued organic certification, which includes restrictions on the use of commercial fertilizer and tap water. The fields are commercially fertilized to support the hay operation for the cattle.

About six years ago, they set up a small building and were open that one day a week.

“She loved the farm,” Kenny said of Ann, adding she would visit with the people coming by and enjoyed talking about the farm and the family.

They’ve since outgrown the first building, moving it elsewhere to serve as a storage building. It’s been replaced by a larger structure with a shopping area and storage in the back where they keep coolers and freezers.

The popularity of Fridays at the Farm has grown through the pandemic, Kenny said.

“There are more people who want to know where their food is coming from, and they want fresh, local products,” he said. 

The Careys work with several other local farmers, offering fresh vegetables, eggs, local honey, even treats like homemade fried pies. The other farms are all in Cumberland County, and the fried pies — strawberry creme, apple, peach and blueberry — are made by Ruth Ann’s Bakery, just down the road from the farm.

The greenhouse at Stone Memorial High School sells its hydroponic lettuce at the market, with the money going back to the school’s agriculture programs.

Ann passed away in December 2021, leaving behind her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and a host of family and friends.

But her memory is kept alive at Hit-n-Miss Farm. On a recent Wednesday, Lynn was peeling green onions ahead of the market opening, like Ann used to do. The store was also stocked with a selection of jams made with Ann’s recipes.

“It’s a struggle to find the time, but we make bigger batches,” Kenny said.

Hit-n-Miss Farm is open during the spring, summer and fall on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1-5 p.m., Fridays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Visit the farm to sign up for weekly email updates to know what’s in season and available and any weekly specials.

Find them on Facebook to keep up with what’s fresh at the farm.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.

Editor of the Crossville Chronicle.

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