Voices bringing real-world experience to the North Fork Meat Summit.
Dan Macon
UC COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, CENTRAL SIERRADan is a UC Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor for the Central Sierra, a first-generation rancher, and former direct-to-consumer producer. His work focuses on ranch business management, decision-making, targeted grazing, direct marketing, and helping producers navigate challenging operating conditions.
Kasey DeAtley
CSU, CHICO COLLEGE OF AGRICULTUREKasey is a sixth-generation Shasta County rancher and Professor of Animal and Range Sciences at CSU, Chico College of Agriculture. Her work brings together beef cattle genetics, range management, applied research, leadership, and strengths-based approaches to building more effective agricultural teams and organizations.
Morgan Doran
UC COOPERATIVE EXTENSION LIVESTOCK AND NATURAL RESOURCES ADVISOR
Morgan Doran is a UC Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resources Advisor serving Napa, Solano, Yolo, and Sacramento counties. With a background in business management and ruminant ecology, Morgan brings a practical, systems-based perspective to livestock production, ranch business management, and natural resource stewardship.
For many years, his Extension work has supported emerging direct-to-consumer ranchers and processors, from animal husbandry and production management to business planning and market development. Morgan will contribute to the panel with an overview of Northern California’s regional meat supply chain, including its history, current dynamics, available resources, and emerging opportunities.
Cody Hopkins
CEO & FOUNDING FARMER, GRASS ROOTS FARMERS’ COOPERATIVE
Cody Hopkins is a first-generation farmer and former physics teacher who has spent nearly 20 years exploring how independent farmers and ranchers can stay on the land and build financially sustainable businesses. He and his wife, Andrea, founded Falling Sky Farm in the Arkansas Ozarks in 2006, and Cody became a founding member of Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative in 2014.
Today, the cooperative brings together roughly 40 family farms selling pasture-raised meat nationally while developing the processing, distribution, and market infrastructure those farms need to reach customers. Cody also works with ranchers and direct-to-consumer meat businesses on cattle marketing, business development, and succession planning, with a particular interest in creating opportunities for the next generation of producers.
David Zarling
PROGRAM MANAGER, NICHE MEAT PROCESSOR ASSISTANCE NETWORK (NMPAN)
David Zarling is a career butcher with extensive hands-on experience in humane animal handling and slaughter, whole-animal fabrication, value-added processing, and meat plant management.
Through his work with the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network, David provides technical assistance and training to small and mid-sized meat processors across the country. His expertise includes plant management, food safety and operations systems, workforce development, and new product development, with a focus on helping processors build profitable businesses while staying true to their values.
Jim Morris
BRYAN-MORRIS RANCHJim Morris is a farmer and rancher in Scott Valley, where he raises cattle and sheep along with hay and seed crops. A longtime Farm Bureau member and advocate for agriculture, Jim has been involved in addressing challenges facing modern agriculture and exploring opportunities for value-added processing in the region.
Jim will moderate the discussion, bringing a Siskiyou County producer perspective to the conversation and helping connect the panel’s broader regional experience to the opportunities and challenges facing local ranchers and the regional meat supply chain.
Mary & Brian Heffernan
FIVE MARY'S RANCHMary and Brian Heffernan are the owners of Five Marys Ranch in Northern California, where they have built a diversified ranching and direct-to-consumer meat business centered on raising livestock, connecting directly with customers, and creating long-term opportunities for their family and operation.
Through Five Marys, they have developed firsthand experience in ranch management, direct-to-consumer sales, marketing, customer relationships, and building a recognizable agricultural brand. Their work offers a practical perspective on what it takes to grow a ranch-based business while navigating the realities of production, processing, sales, and family life.
Mary and Brian will join the North Fork Meat Summit for a live Q+A, sharing lessons from their experience building Five Marys and answering questions about ranching, meat marketing, direct-to-consumer sales, and the challenges and opportunities they have encountered along the way.