Jamie Ager

Jamie Ager is the founder/farmer/CEO of Hickory Nut Gap, a fifth generation family farm in Fairview, NC, that has grown into a regional food brand that works with other Good Meat producers in the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast.

Jamie went to Warren Wilson College just down the road from the farm, in Swannanoa, where he met his wife Amy. During his time at Warren Wilson, Jamie learned the importance of rebuilding soil, reversing climate change, and how to raise and treat animals humanely. Together Jamie and Amy took the knowledge and passion they gained in college and applied it to Hickory Nut Gap, building Jamie’s family farm into a well-established regional brand with a mission to build community through agriculture.

How do you define and implement your business's Good Meat® values? 

Hickory Nut Gap’s mission is to build community through agriculture. That means that we pay attention to each of the components that make up Good Meat. Good meat can be raised correctly and taste delicious. We believe that soil health, animal health, people health, and community health are all connected.

What is your Good Meat® business model?

The Hickory Nut Gap business model is to purchase pasture raised cattle and hogs from farmers in the Southeast. HNG takes possession of the product at the processing plant and creates both fresh and value added products, which we distribute to our retail and foodservice partners. Hickory Nut Gap is also a family farm, in Fairview, NC. At our farm, we host folks who want to visit our farm store, see farm animals, and learn about agriculture.

What is one thing you wish more consumers knew about raising livestock?

There is a very special relationship between farmers and their livestock. The partnership between farmers, livestock, and the land is rooted in our primal need for connection to the land, as well as the connection to our food.

What meat, or meat dish, do you eat most regularly and what do you eat for a special occasion?

We were raised eating a huge pork shoulder roast on cold winter evenings. That remains a special occasion for me. Regularly, our family eats hamburgers, since we have three boys at home who are big eaters!

What is one of your biggest challenges as a Good Meat® producer?

One of the biggest challenges we have as a Good Meat producer is utilization, or using the whole animal. As we grow, low utilization (or wasted parts of the animal) create cash flow issues that are common in the meat industry.