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In 2003, the Sander family opened a new meat processing facility in Celestine, Dubois County, Indiana. Meanwhile, Dave Fisher and his family return home to join his father, Joe, who works on a six-generation livestock farm. Dave and his wife Diana start a local natural meat business. They agreed to process the cattle at the Sander facility. By 2004, Fisher Farms meat operations are launched.
Fast forward to 2024. Travel just a few miles and go to St. Anthony. Sander Family Meats provides processing and retail sales at the location, which opened in May 2021. The property is shared with Fischer Farms. A tunnel connects his two buildings. The animals are slaughtered and processed on the sander side. Meat destined for Fisher Farms is carted to another building, packaged, and boxed by Fisher Farms employees. It is then sorted for shipment to 150 restaurants, 12 retail stores, 40 online customers, and Indiana University dining halls.
“The Thunder family owns their side, and we own ours,” Dave says. “Although most of the meat in their retail store is theirs, we put some items in their meat cases. They also sell locally produced items, and some are available online as well. We both support local producers and our customers appreciate that we source other locally sourced products.”
quality and consistency
So how did a cattle producer go from zero to moving 30 cows and 90 pigs, plus eggs, turkeys, and more in just 20 years?
“We have always focused on quality, and that starts with genetics and includes how we feed our animals,” says Dave. “Our cows are a cross between Angus and Shorthorn. It’s important to track genetics and continue to improve.
“Marbling is key. We evaluate the marbling of any animal’s steak. Then we track its genetics. If a particular animal’s meat doesn’t meet our marbling standards, we make changes.”
“Anyone can raise one high-quality animal,” he continues. “The trick is to do it every week with 30 animals.”
Currently, Dave cannot produce enough cows. He works with local producers but monitors their genetics and feeding methods. “We make sure their animal meat meets our standards,” he says.
The pigs are raised by the Gutsell family, including Mark, Bernie, Wes and Kyle. We use Duroc boars and follow consistent feeding guidelines to produce pigs that produce consistently high quality carcasses.
“They follow the same philosophy as us, growing natural meat without the use of feed additives,” Dave explains.
customer service
It wasn’t just that someone at Indiana University called Dave and asked, “Can you supply all the cafeterias with meat?” Life doesn’t work that way, he says.
“It took a lot of knocking on doors, telling our story, and patience,” he says. “The university is very conscious about environmental sustainability, and we have been concerned about it for a long time. The more we demonstrate that we produce meat in a humane and environmentally friendly way, the more They start to like meat more.”
Today, Diana is the CEO of a meat business and Dave focuses on raising animals. Diana has several employees and Dave has four employees and runs a herd of 450 cows.
Fisher Farms has one delivery truck that makes weekly trips to the IU campus and Indianapolis. The remaining meat is picked up by retailers or distributors at the St. Anthony store. Trucks often deliver goods nearby and then pick up meat for transport, reducing overall fuel emissions.
“Tracking meat to order is not as complicated as you might think,” says Diana. “Dave custom-designed the software to fit the way we operate. We can easily track individual cut and fill orders.”
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