Choctaw Nation launches beef program to public

HUGO, Okla. (KXII) -When you think of the Choctaw Nation, your first thought probably isn’t beef.

Well this month the nation launched the Farm-to-Home Freezer Beef Program.

“The response has been very, very good,” said Dr. Evan Whitley, Director of Agriculture for the Choctaw Nation.

Whitley said they have been sourcing beef for years to the casinos.

But they have recently partnered with other local entities, “Colgate ISD and Atoka ISD, as well as the Jones Academy.”

Not to mention the partnership with Reba’s Place in Atoka.

“We want to be able to provide that high quality product to our consumers,” Whitley said.

The Choctaw Nation has seven ranches solely dedicated to raising Choctaw beef, “depending upon which ranch we’re talking about, some of these ranches have been under the Choctaw possession for over 20 years,” Whitley said.

In total, the nation manages 50,000 acres for cattle, with over 2,500 black angus based females.

“We’re opening up the opportunity for consumers to be able to buy our product at our country markets,” Whitley said.

But you can also order the beef online, “they can buy either a whole, or they can buy a half, or they can buy a quarter.”

And a quarter averages out to a whopping 150 pounds of meat.

“We want to offer a high quality product at a fair market price and so we can’t give you a price until we know the weight of the animal and we know what the price that week is going to be,” Whitley added.

The nation hopes for this program to take off so they continue to help the communities the ranches are within.

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