Seven generations on the same bend in the river.
The Bend has been in our family since the 1800s. We started raising beef here in 1902, and we’ve never left.
The Cotton Years
It started with cotton. My great-grandfather and his eleven brothers and sisters worked these fields by hand, and a portion of the land stayed in the family from generation to generation. As properties were divided among children, my grandfather Simon inherited a substantial section he named “The Bend” — a name that came naturally from the wide curve of the Mulberry River that wraps the property on three sides.
Cattle, Pits, and Practical Lessons
The Bend has been a lot of things over the years: row crops, traditional cattle, even a soil-pit resource for an excavation company. As a kid, I learned what adulthood actually looks like on this farm — worming and vaccinating cattle, fixing fence, and keeping company with three or four hundred cows. The lessons stuck.
New Ideas, Same Land
Owning a big piece of land like this sounds like the dream. The truth is, it isn’t easy. The last fifteen to twenty-five years made it clear that the old farming model doesn’t pay enough to keep a family on the land. Farming had to change, or we had to change with it.
So my dad and I came up with a plan to make The Bend better. We cut out the middleman. We got closer to our neighbors and our community, and we put our energy into producing something genuinely worth buying — even if our prices weren’t the lowest at the meat counter.
Raising the Best
Today, that means starting with quality Black Angus calves from local Cullman County farms. We grow them slow on grass, minerals, and rough forage so their stomachs stay healthy and the cattle stay calm. Toward the end, we finish on a careful grain blend. That’s the step that turns good beef into the kind of marbling and tenderness Alabama steakhouses pay top dollar for.
The Family Tradition
Selling direct started with our website and door-to-door rounds and is growing into something bigger. This isn’t just a business — it’s a legacy I’m building for my kids, Knox and Nash. They already love this farm in a way I recognize from my own childhood, only deeper. The freedom and connection to the land they have here is something we’re proud to protect.
Honoring the Land
We’re at a turning point. Housing developers come knocking. Family farms get pressured into subdivision. We’re sticking it out — counting on our community, our local restaurants, and the families who care where their food comes from to help keep The Bend going for generations to come. That’s bigger than just selling steaks. It’s about preserving a way of life that respects the land and the people on it.
— Austin Sartain, The Bend Beef
Eat with us.
Order Black Angus steaks raised by people you can call by their first name.
Order Steaks Contact usFrequently Asked Questions
Where is The Bend Beef raised?
Our Black Angus cattle are raised on "The Bend," our family's 360-acre farm in Holly Pond, Alabama, surrounded on three sides by the Mulberry River. The land has been in our family since the early 1800s and producing beef under the Bend name since 1902.
Is your beef hormone-free and antibiotic-free?
Yes. We never use added hormones, growth promoters, or routine antibiotics. Our cattle graze on native Alabama pastures and finish on a quality grain blend that produces the marbling our customers expect.
How long has the Bend family been farming?
Our family has worked this land since the 1800s, and we have raised cattle on The Bend since 1902. That's seven generations of Alabama farmers, all on the same ground.
What kind of cattle do you raise?
We raise Black Angus. We start with quality calves from local Cullman County farms, grow them slowly on grass, and finish on grain to lock in the tenderness, marbling, and flavor our beef is known for.
Do you ship steaks?
We currently take orders directly through our Facebook page and by phone. Local pickup is available at the farm in Holly Pond. Call 256-590-5840 or message us on Facebook to ask about your area.