With hectic schedules full of class, job searching and extracurriculars, college students hardly have time to go searching at multiple grocery stores for the absolute best product at a reasonable price.

Nick Willham, IU graduate student and wrestler, was faced with this problem. He decided to purchase a local beef share, to give back to his community. This led Willham to found Farmogic, which specializes in getting local meat and dairy products from local farms straight to customer’s doorsteps.

When Willham decided to make the idea a reality in 2023, he asked his friends, IU Wrestlers and Little 500 riders, to help him out.

“I think it’s a really awesome opportunity that I’d be a fool not to get involved in,” Nico Bolivar, Farmogic team member and IU senior and wrestler said.

Not only can Farmogic deliver to your residence, but Farmogic can also ship their product to anywhere in Indiana using dry ice.

“We’re trying not only to make it easy to know which product is best — you know where it’s coming from and what happened to the animal, you know what’s been inside the animal — that knowledge part is something we want to provide to our customer base… but also the ease,” Bolivar said.

When deciding which farms to partner with, the boys said that the farms they get their product from must be far above the ordinary.

“We’re looking for something that’s raised the way it was meant to be raised,” Willham said.

Not only must Farmogic’s partner farms be grass-fed, but they must also be grass-finished. This means that the cattle must be fed nothing but grass for the entirety of their life, not just a portion of it.

“The way animals are treated, there’s a strong correlation between how animals are treated and the correlation is in their products,” Willham said.

MKONO Farm does exactly that. MKONO Farm is a small batch winery in Bloomington that specializes in the Kune Kune pig, native to New Zealand. 

MKONO farmer Amanda Hand said that she spends time watching all of her animals at every mealtime. Hand believes that good animal husbandry includes really getting to know your animals’ personalities so you are able to identify when they are in pain or not feeling well.

MKONO Farm has been located in Bloomington for about two years and has been partnering with Farmogic for nearly one year. Farmogic also partners with Hayes Grass-Fed Beef and Twilight Dairy.

The Farmogic team said that they find it important to help support the local farmers economically, rather than just taking the profits for themselves.

Bolivar focuses on marketing for Farmogic, which often includes getting involved with the IU community.

“People who go to the farmer’s market is only one side of the people we want to sell to, but it’s also the people that can’t go the market that we want to reach,” Bolivar said.

In the past, Farmogic has gone to the tailgating fields, looking to supply Farmogic burgers to students without a tailgate to go to. Farmogic has also started to work with athletes, specifically the wrestling team, to use NIL to their advantage.

People interested in purchasing from Farmogic or learning more about their mission can go to their website here. 

To keep up to date with Farmogic, follow their Instagram here.