Thankful People: Jones sees silver lining in coronavirus era

This year started in promising fashion for Colby Jones.

Owner of Farrar Out Farms near Frohna, Missouri, Jones raises cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys. He has the beef, pork and lamb prepared for sale at a meat processor. He — with help from an employee and his two younger brothers — processes the chickens and turkeys (one batch each year in time for Thanksgiving). Most of his business — 90% — comes from selling his products at farmers markets in St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

A market event in January went well, and Jones was looking forward to another one scheduled for mid-February.

“That’s when things started looking a little sketchy,” he said.

COVID-19.

Colby Jones, owner of Farrar Out Farms near Frohna, Missouri, tends to sheep on his farm.Submitted

Way of life

Farming has deep roots in Jones’ family. His father’s and mother’s families were farmers and ranchers. His first job at 15 was working as a farm hand on the land he owns today. He took a leap of faith to buy the farm in 2010.

“I took out a small loan to take it over, and that’s where we are today,” he said, standing near one of his shops on a ridge overlooking several pastures. “I enjoy working for myself and being able to watch myself overcome challenges and grow the business and be successful at it.”

Over the years, he has cultivated a customer base from farmers markets and innovative purchasing groups.

“I supply a small co-op,” he explained. “People come in and pick up what they want and leave money. It’s like a grocery store with no one there.”

He spends much of his time traveling to the St. Louis area several times each week to deliver products.

All of it ground to a halt once coronavirus arrived.

“Things were going to start shutting down. They were talking about no farmers markets at all for the summer,” he said.

March and April were anxious months, with many activities shuttered because of the virus. Uncertainty dominated. Making matters worse, meat processors struggled with capacity.

But, Jones began to reach out to his customers and adapted sales techniques to the new normal.

“We were meeting one-to-one with masks, gloves, hand sanitizer. I was selling out of the back of my van in a parking lot,” he said. “It made it a little challenging, but once the markets got opened, the amount of people coming was overwhelming. I couldn’t keep up.”

Thankful

What looked like a catastrophe evolved into a “very busy year” for Jones, and the virus-related societal changes spurred shopping locally, a trend Jones hopes continues.

As the pandemic wore on, once- or twice-a-week trips to farmers markets took on a new importance.

“In talking to a lot of people, I found one thing they looked forward to was going out every Wednesday or Saturday. It was the only time they were getting out of the house to go anywhere,” Jones said. “People were afraid to go out, but they felt safer at an outdoor market, and just getting out to see people let them know there is some normalcy out there.”

As spring turned into summer, Jones’ anxiety lessened.

“By June, business had picked up quite a bit, and I could see down the road that it was going to be OK,” he said. “I didn’t have to lie in bed at night and wonder if next week’s bills were going to be able to be paid.”

The farmer acknowledged some residual uncertainty about the virus’ effect going forward but said maintaining a positive attitude is his goal.

With 2021 on the horizon, Jones anticipates next year will look similar to this one, with an abiding sense of normalcy not returning until a safe, effective vaccine for the virus is widely available.

What lesson has he taken from his experience this year?

“Put your faith in God and just know that He is going to take care of you and help you through it. Lots of prayer, and things have come around for me.”