Lily grew up in the city of Janesville, WI. A 2013 graduate of Janesville Craig HS, she headed off to college at Iowa State University on her way to becoming a veterinarian. Well, plans never work quite the way they are written, and in 2017, after being accepted to the UW Madison School of Veterinary Medicine the previous year, she found herself looking for a career change.

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She had spent the summer after her first year in vet school loving her seasonal job working for a meat sheep and beef cattle farm in Arena, WI. The summer of fixing fences, caring for Katahdin sheep and Hereford cattle, learning how to operate a skid steer, clearing pastures, and other general chores led her to gain a newfound appreciation for farmers.

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As fall of 2017 approached too fast, she was scrambling to figure out how to step forward into the next chapter of her career in a way that would support the wholesome life that she tasted that summer. Luckily, one of her coworkers at the farm forwarded her a job posting for “sausage maker” at the local meat market.

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Not knowing much more than undergraduate meat science classes about the industry, she started a five year journey into the custom processing and retail meat industry. Few people fully understand the process of getting a beef from the pasture to the table, and she considers herself blessed that she had such excellent mentors.

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From scheduling, taking cut sheets, and fielding phone calls from customers and clients alike, she started off in the office and the packaging room. In the mornings, she would beg the head butcher to teach her how to break down hindquarters of the hanging beef carcasses, and she snuck onto the mobile slaughter unit on the weekends to learn the craft of humanely harvesting animals in the pasture. Deer season brought a whole new host of challenges, excitement, and learning. From hauling deer off the back of trucks to learning how to tease capes off magnificent trophy bucks to figuring out how to get the best yield without sacrificing quality, Lily thoroughly enjoyed the long days of harvest season.

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Lily knew she wanted to re-create this life back here in Janesville for the local farming and hunting communities. For the past several years, she has been a sponge for information, skills, and the business aspect of running a custom processing facility. In January of 2023, she started her search in finding a way to start up and operate a small custom processing operation with wild game services.

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In September 2023, Lily opened Township Meats as a deer processing service. In time, she will be working on growing the business into a small custom livestock processing facility to realize her full potential in this industry.

 

Lily hopes the people of the City of Janesville and the farmers and hunters in the area will join her in starting this new journey. Connecting farmers to their local consumers is her passion because we all benefit from keeping the meat supply local. She has found that there is nothing quite like the feeling of being able to respect a harvest like it is her own and return unadulterated venison back to the grateful hunter. Lily wants to thank each and every one of you who have played a part in getting her where she is today; she could never have done this without you.