Careers in Agriculture: Bacon-making runs in the family for butcher shop owner

ALBERS, Ill. — For Cliff Behrmann, bacon runs in the blood.

Behrmann is the owner of Behrmann Meat and Processing, a business started by his maternal grandfather and Behrmann’s father.

“If you’ve got a good product, people enjoy it. It’s a lot easier to sell a good product than an average product,” he said.

Behrmann has been in the bacon and meat business for 50 years. He bought the business from his father in 2020, but has worked in the business most of his life.

Behrmann’s maternal grandfather, Vincent Toennies, started the company, along with Behrmann’s father, Dennis, in 1967.

One of the products that the business is famous for is its bacon. The slab bacon is thick cut, meaty and with the right amount of fat.

The company moves around 15,000 pounds of it a week, between the direct-to-consumer store and Behrmann’s wholesale meat business.

“The difference is in the size of the hogs that we buy. Some chain stores buy heavier hogs, so their bellies are going to be a little more fatty. It’s cheaper bacon,” Behrmann said.

“My theory is if you don’t start out with something good, you’re not going to end up with something good.”

Behrmann knows his hogs. He and his parents raised purebred Yorkshire, Duroc, Hampshire and Landrace hogs, some that they would process themselves and others that were sold in production sales, before exiting the pork production business to operate the processing and storefront full time.

One of the things that Behrmann likes about what he does is the “challenge of growing.” In May, the family opened a new 26,000-square-foot facility.

The processing facility is federally inspected and harvests and processes cattle and hogs, as well as lamb and goats.

“Our business has been really good. I added on to the retail and made that bigger since sales have increased in our retail business,” Behrmann said.

“I’ve noticed that more people would rather buy their meat from the local butcher shop, where they know it’s fresh and they know what they’re getting.”

Bacon remains one of the more popular items that he makes.

“It’s been in the business forever and it’s our own recipe. A lot of people like it,” he said.

In addition, the business is known for its hams, along with its sausage and bratwurst.

Behrmann’s bratwurst won champion cooked bratwurst at the 2024 Illinois State Fair and the company’s other products have racked up blue ribbons in other contests through the years.

“Our ham is really popular. Our pork sausage, we sell a lot of pork sausage. We sell a lot of bratwurst. Another big seller is our hot dogs; ours are the natural casing hot dogs, which not very many people make anymore, so we sell a lot of those,” he said.

Behrmann’s brother, Scott, takes care of the grain farming side of the business and Cliff helps out at planting and harvest. The rest of the time, he can be found at the butcher shop.

Behrmann’s nephews, Tyler Behrmann and Brandon Book, also work in the business with him.

Behrmann said he enjoys the challenges that come with the meat business. Among the biggest changes in the industry that he’s seen are in equipment and labor.

“The equipment has gotten better. It’s bigger and more automated. There were only two or three people who worked with my dad and grandpa when they first started,” he said.

“Now I’ve got 72 employees. We cover a 250-mile radius with our wholesale business and we have nine trucks.”

When it comes to cooking bacon, Behrmann’s preferred method is outdoors.

“Through the summer, I fry it on my Blackstone, but through the winter, I pan fry it. It always smells so good,” he said.