Sweet Grown Alabama Blogs

Tucked within the hills of Lineville, Alabama, sits Rockin’ U Farm, a fourth-generation cattle operation. Chris and Jordyn Upchurch, along with their young son Charlie, continue to carry on the family legacy of serving their community and state.

Chris diversified their operation by adding commercial poultry houses in 2010. He met his wife, Jordyn, in 2013, and they were married two years later. 

In addition to poultry houses, the Upchurches have grown their farm to include a 300 head SimAngus cow-calf operation, as well a trucking operation where they clean poultry houses and send the collected waste to be used as fertilizer for local farmers.

They have also diversified the farm to include a direct-to-consumer beef business where they sell roughly 17 head of cattle directly to customers in local communities each year. While sales are not limited to a geographic region, most of their customers live in Clay, Calhoun and Lee Counties. The Upchurches market this side of their business through social media, targeted emails and satisfied customers.

“Word of mouth is a huge part in marketing our business,” said Jordyn.

Rockin U’ Farm’s direct-to-consumer beef business started with a demand from consumers to know how and where their food was grown.  

“I would say knowing your producer personally is the number one reason to buy local,” Jordyn said. Jordyn embodies farm transparency with her social media accounts: Rockin’ U Farm on Facebook and @rockinufarm on Instagram. Rockin’ U Farm’s followers get a glimpse into everyday farm life, learn how cattle are humanely raised and ask questions about farming practices.

“Another huge benefit of buying local is keeping money in the community,” said Chris. Sweet Grown Alabama, the state’s non-profit agricultural marketing program, exists to bolster Alabama’s economy by encouraging consumers to spend their money with local farmers just like the Upchurch family.  

Rockin’ U Farm is a proud member of Sweet Grown Alabama, which lists farms on a convenient online searchable database.

“Being on the directory has been a huge benefit for us. We have seen an uptick in business just from that,” said the Upchurches. “Sweet Grown Alabama connects us with a wide network of other producers and consumers from across the state.”

Click here to learn more about Rockin’ U Farm.