Technology figures the tab at meat outlet

Ashley and Thane Huyard of Timbo have brought cutting-edge technology into the local meat picture, with their AI-assisted “Farmer’s Freezer” in Timbo.

The Huyards got into custom meat as an addition to what they are already doing. Ashley has a master’s in animal nutrition, and she works for Purina, a job which requires her to travel around the state. Thane is a Farm Bureau agent.

“With us both working full time, and me being out of town a lot, traveling, it just wasn’t very feasible for us to meet up with people,” Ashley says.

They also wanted to keep costs down, to make their products more affordable. Their solution was The Farmer’s Freezer, which opened in March of this year. It is housed in a small building on their property next to Dollar General in Timbo.

The store uses AI to identify which cuts of meat a customer has purchased, and charges accordingly. Ashley explains it as being similar to what happens when you put your credit card in a gas pump to pay for gas.

She says, “It’s a temporary hold on your card, the door unlocks. You shop it just like a freezer at, you know, Walmart or Kroger. You go in there, and you get your steak, or a pack of hamburger meat, or as much stuff as you want out of there, then when you close that door, it runs the video footage through the AI and sees what products you took out, then it will charge you accordingly. A QR code pops up on the screen, you scan a QR code, enter your e-mail address, and it will e-mail you a receipt.”

It was an idea that, as far as they know, had never been tried before, using technology that is more common in cities, airports, or other countries. Ashley had to train the algorithm to recognize meat products, but now the couple hopes to be able to offer similar technology to other farmers who want to sell meat this way.

In Timbo, the other food options are a convenience store and a Dollar General. “It’s been a big convenience for a lot of folks, from what they’ve told me,” Ashley says. “And it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, doesn’t take any breaks.”

Besides convenience and price, Ashley said other concerns for their customers include knowing where their beef comes from. “Our cattle, they’re pasture raised,” she says. “They never go off pasture through the entire feeding process, even in finish.”