Falling Timber Farm: Creating Community Through Cattle
Missouri’s beef industry isn’t a secret society. It’s a working network of families, neighbors, partners and communities with shared interests and goals that band together to get the work done.
Nestled where the rolling hills begin to give way to the flatland beyond the river is Falling Timber Farm. The Ridder family has been farming near Marthasville in Agri-Ready Designated Warren County since 1853. Today, John Ridder and wife Heidi, in partnership with John’s parents, Glenn and Yvonne, keep the family farming tradition alive and well. In 2026 the Ridders will celebrate 50 years of registered Hereford seedstock production.
A Valued Community
Like many Missouri cattle operations, Falling Timber Farm doesn’t operate within the borders of a single community. Due to rising land values and urban sprawl, beef producers like the Ridders aren’t strangers to operations that span multiple communities.
Falling Timber cattle, partnerships and support systems stretch across several counties. John and Heidi credit their community for helping them to care for their cattle. That community includes the John Fischer family in Agri-Ready Designated Franklin County, employee Bryan Pollard in Agri-Ready Designated Montgomery County, and neighbor Mark Neuner in Agri-Ready Designated Gasconade County.
Diversified Farm = Diversified Community
The Ridders grow crops and John sells bull semen through ST Genetics and mineral through VitaFerm.
The Ridders joined a community of dedicated Missouri farmers that invested in Oak Hill Meats and Processing near Cuba, Missouri. The USDA-inspected facility opened in September 2020 and specializes in custom processing of beef and pork and offers private labeling services.
A History of Connecting with the Consumer Community
Back in the 1980’s, Yvonne saw the need for beef producers to develop personal relationships with consumers. She began selling freezer beef to friends, neighbors, and coworkers-a revenue stream that is still part of Falling Timber Farm today.
‘Back in the day’, John served as the chairman of the Missouri Beef Industry Council, giving him a unique, statewide platform to be a face for Missouri’s beef industry to consumers.
“I was the first beef representative for the very first ‘Stepping Up to the Plate’ campaign in 2010. They put me on a baseball card!” John remembers. “That campaign brought dollars together from across agriculture to reach our consumers with a unified voice. It was pretty neat. It was a good idea, and it is obviously still a good idea.” Today, this effort continues through Missouri Farmers Care’s Race To The Plate Farm Team.
Blast from the Past
In 2010, a coalition of Missouri agriculture organizations teamed up for the first time with the St. Louis Cardinals to present ‘Missouri Farmers, Stepping Up to the Plate!’. The campaign’s goal was to increase consumer understanding of how farmers used the latest technology to provide safe, affordable, nutritious food. Six Missouri farmers were featured representing dairy, beef, poultry, pork, corn, and soybeans. With over a decade of meaningful collaboration and partnership history, this campaign still succeeds today as The Race to the Plate Farm Team. Missouri Farmers Care’s Race to the Plate is brought to you by Missouri Beef Industry Council, Missouri Corn, Midwest Dairy, Missouri Farm Bureau, Missouri Pork Association, and MFA, Inc.
A Message to Beef Consumers
“Beef is safe, nutritious, and the best protein on the market,” John says. “We know consumers care about where their beef comes from or we wouldn’t be so successful selling local freezer beef. I believe that imported beef will drive demand for local beef. Consumers can tell the difference.”
More About the Ridders
Heidi married both John and the farm in 2001. She leads the farm’s marketing and advertising efforts. For now, John and Heidi’s children are away from the farm. Their daughter, Madi, is a second-year veterinary student at the University of Missouri Columbia and their son, Ben, is studying agricultural systems technology at Oklahoma State University.
John and Heidi are members of the Missouri Hereford Association, the American Hereford Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The Ridder Family is proud to support the work of the Warren and Franklin County Cattlemen’s groups, affiliates of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. John serves as the appointed member-at-large for the Missouri Beef Industry Council.
Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri Beef Industry Council are partners of Missouri Farmers Care.
Agri-Ready Designated Warren County
Agriculture, including food, feed and forestry, contributes $175.2 million in value-added products, $469.2 million in output, over 2,600 jobs, and adds $279.2 million to household incomes in Warren County according to the 2021 Missouri Economic Contribution of Agriculture and Forestry Study.
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