Ex Yankees coach and wife open ‘MAHA’-friendly – Business News
Now, that’s a farm system!
Dana Cavalea used to coach Yankees because the workforce’s director of power and conditioning, even serving to to clinch the World Series in 2009. Now, he’s cultivating his own Field of Dreams.
“For years, my background in sports was helping athletes source good quality food,” Cavalea, 42, informed The Post. “I just thought, ‘Well, what better way to source quality food than raise your own?’”
Alex Rodriguez stretches with power and conditioning coordinator Dana Cavalea earlier than the Baltimore Orioles’ 6-0 win over the visiting New York Yankees at Camden Yards on April 19. 2008. Mitch Stringer/ABACAUSA.COM
Cavalea and his wife, Lauren, bought a farm on a whim in 2020. Now they run the growing direct-to-consumer meat business Freedom Farms. Heather Ainsworth
Despite no prior agriculture expertise, Cavalea and his wife, Lauren, bought 180 acres within the tiny upstate city of Greene and operate a growing direct-to-consumer meat business.
Freedom Farms is fielding an inflow of orders due to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” motion, which emphasizes natural and entire meals.
“I’ve run other businesses before, and I haven’t seen anything take off quite like this,” mentioned Dana, who labored with the Yankees from 2002 to 2014, coached business executives and wrote “Habits of a Champion.”
Cavalea leads the workforce in stretching during a 2013 exercise at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
An natural journey
The couple, who grew up on Long Island and relocated to Florida, got here throughout the farm whereas trying out native real estate during a 2020 trip.
“We met this woman that was the owner of the farm, who was in her 80s, who was looking to pass the torch,” Dana recalled. “She gave us a three-hour walking tour of the property.”
Three months later, the land was theirs.
The 180-acre property sits within the tiny city of Greene, NY. Heather Ainsworth
The dream of a summer time home ultimately developed because the Cavaleas noticed business potential — although they didn’t have enough cows for a home workforce.
“I’ve sort of used this whole baptism-by-fire method my whole life,” Dana mentioned.
The couple labored the land, rebuilt the barn and the services, collaborated with native farmers and sourced 150 heads of cattle. The meat enterprise launched in 2022.
Now, Freedom Farms boasts over 15,000 prospects, largely conservative blue-collar employees and navy veterans. A supply van providers NYC, Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Lauren Cavalea packs an order into a box at Freedom Farms. Heather Ainsworth
They concentrate on grass-fed, grass-finished prime beef with no added hormones.
Grass-fed beef tends to have a greater focus of vitamins like omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), vitamin E and beta-carotene than grain-fed beef — with fewer energy and much less fats as well.
While farm-to-table is commonly more costly than grocery-store cuts, the Cavaleas mentioned the excellence is evident.
“We never really bought meat off of a farm,” Dana mentioned. “So, to our surprise, when we first did, the taste was certainly much different. And … when you cooked the burgers and when you cooked the meats, they held their size and they held their shape.”
Growing pains
As with each start-up, and in baseball, there have been highs and lows.
“I’ve actually turned into Beth Dutton sometimes,” mentioned Lauren, 42, referring to the protecting “Yellowstone” antihero.
Cavalea has gone from working with GOATs to working with goats. Heather Ainsworth
The “city slickers” have, at instances, run afoul of the “very-cutthroat, very-old-boys-club” upstate farming group.
But their “contrarian” advertising and marketing strategy, which incorporates sharing pro-Trump messaging and posting emails penned by “rogue vegans,” has helped them retain over 70% of their prospects.
They look cute, but it surely prices $1,350 a week to feed these pigs. Heather Ainsworth
Grass-fed beef tends to have more vitamins than grain-fed beef. Heather Ainsworth
Feeding these animals is like feeding a household of 500, Dana Cavalea mentioned. Heather Ainsworth
Politics apart, the unpredictable climate and sky-high working bills have proved tough. The Cavaleas estimate they shell out $250 each day to feed their cows, $1,350 weekly for pigs and $500 month-to-month for egg-laying chickens.
“When you start to put all these costs together, it would be like feeding a big family, except our family is livestock,” Dana mentioned. “We basically feed a family of like 500 every day.”
Food manufacturing prices are additionally astronomical, from the transporters to the native feed mill and the order handlers.
“So when you start to see meat at the store for like $4, $5, $6, you’re like, ‘How do they do it?’” Dana mused. “And that’s what I think has priced a lot of small farms out of the game.”
On the horizon
The Cavaleas are opening Freedom Farms for a free competition in September. Heather Ainsworth
Acquiring a US Department of Agriculture slaughterhouse was not half of the Cavaleas’ initial imaginative and prescient, however now they wish to “control the process even more from start to finish.”
“That is, and will continue to be, our biggest bottleneck in the business, because these slaughterhouses, they’re not going to eliminate all their other customers in order to meet your needs,” Dana mentioned.
In the meantime, they’re engaged on feeding and building their loyal base.
The free third-annual Freedom Fest, set for Sept. 13, will function a pig roast, BBQ, reside music, tours, rides and video games.
“The goal is to continue to bring new customers into the system, service those customers well, grow year over year, watch the business create value and the brand become valuable,” Dana mentioned.
If you until it, they may come.
