Dirt Road Cattle Company: Caring for Animals and Feeding Neighbors
Growing up on a farm and active in 4-H, Amanda Schankie learned early on what it meant to care for animals with patience, intention and respect.
“As a kid, I would sit with our animals until they would eat out of my hand,” she said.
Those quiet moments stuck with her, and they’re the foundation of her approach today at Dirt Road Cattle Company in Madison.
“Our animals come first, no matter the day or the weather,” she said. “They eat before we eat.”
A Family Affair
Ranching is a team sport for Amanda and her husband, Philip. They work side by side every day, raising cattle and growing their direct-to-consumer meat business.
“We both love working together and helping each other,” she said. “But like most ranchers would say, you can expect to hear a few choice words when you’re working cattle with your spouse.”
Underneath the humor is a deep partnership.
“My husband is my biggest supporter,” she said. “Without him, this business wouldn’t be what it is today.”
Their daughter works right alongside them, learning lessons the same way Amanda once did — by doing. She sees the long days, unpredictability and the pride from feeding families across Kansas.
“She knows you have to be able to deal with adversity because nothing ever goes as planned,” she said.
A good day, Amanda jokes, is simple: A day with no flat tires or cattle out. But more sincerely, her favorite part of the job is working with her husband and daughter to feed others.
Community Focus
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Schankies saw the real-time effect of meat shortages on prices at the grocery store. This nudged them to step in and support their community. To help people get high-quality meat more affordably, the Schankies started selling directly to consumers (instead of just selling their cattle at the sale barn). When they made the shift, something clicked. Selling locally didn’t just change their business model; it reframed the meaning of their work.
“It makes what we do feel like it has more of an impact,” Amanda said. “We get to know our consumers personally and what’s important to them.”
Today, Dirt Road Cattle Company offers a wide variety of products: grain-finished beef, grass-fed beef, Longhorn beef, pork, pasture-raised chickens and turkeys, grass-fed bison, and chicken and duck eggs. They sell individual cuts as well as quarters, halves and whole beef shares. Their meats reach customers through monthly home delivery routes across Kansas, their store at the ranch and the Lawrence Farmers Market. The response has been overwhelming and affirming.
“[Customers] say they love our beef," she said.
Longhorns and Land
For many customers, Dirt Road Cattle Company’s Longhorn beef stands out as something special. It’s naturally leaner and lower in calories, saturated fats and cholesterol. And the cattle are raised on native Flint Hills grass, which is a point of pride for Amanda.
“It’s some of the best grass in the world,” she said.
Consumers appreciate both the flavor and the practicality.
“There’s no grease to drain off when frying up hamburger,” she said.
Beyond the cuts themselves, the Schankies’ approach to raising cattle is rooted in simplicity and care. Their grass-fed cattle live entirely on pasture, supplemented with alfalfa only during the winter. Grain-finished cattle graze on grass too and receive grain during the final 180 days before processing. Stress-free, natural, open-air living is always the goal.
Consumer Connection
Amanda believes deeply in bringing people back to the days of knowing where their food comes from and who raised it.
“We like meeting our customers and interacting with them, instead of just being a transaction at a grocery store,” she said. “Our customers are the most important part of our business. They are not only our customers but our friends.”
Amanda wants people to ask questions, learn and feel confident in their food choices. She works hard to shorten the distance between pasture and plate.
The Road Ahead
The last few years have brought big changes for Dirt Road Cattle Company. Because demand has grown so steadily, the family purchased a walk-in freezer, completed a mobile meat market trailer and expanded their presence at markets and events across Kansas.
“I never imagined I would be able to make a full-time job out of selling beef when I first started,” Amanda said.
Loving animals came first, and the business came later. Now, every delivery, every farmers market conversation and every returning customer feels like confirmation she’s doing what she was meant to do and giving her daughter the chance to grow up steeped in the same values she learned as a kid. This is the life Amanda always dreamed of.
