By Tanner Hood

Trevor Collier reached into a freezer filled with processed beef bound for families in need around his north Alabama community. The Lauderdale County farmer scraped frost off packages of roast and ground beef knowing the difference it could make in someone’s life. 

“When I came back to the farm, I was looking for something different in our area to help support my family and parents, so we broke into the freezer beef business,” said Collier, who worked an office job before returning to his family farm in 2019. “I also joined the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP). That’s how I met Michael and learned about Thousand Hills Cattle.” 

Created by Michael and Kelli Smith, Thousand Hills Cattle is a network of cattlemen helping families in need. Producers donate protein, while the Smiths purchase freezers, coordinate donation points and deliver the beef. 

“One thing that stuck with me was when Michael said, ‘Just because someone is down on their luck doesn’t mean they don’t deserve good, quality food,’” said Collier, a Class VI graduate of the Alabama Farmers Federation Agricultural Leaders for Alabama (A.L.F.A. Leaders) program. “We made our first donation to Thousand Hills Cattle in 2023 and asked if he knew anyone who needed the meat. Michael wanted us to donate locally and make a change at home.” 

Since 2020, Thousand Hills has partnered with 17 Alabama farmers to provide freezer beef to families, food banks and community service programs. 

“I was sitting at home with my wife one night, and she asked, ‘If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?’” Michael remembered. “I had just gotten out of the military and was looking for my next passion, so I said, ‘I’d run cattle, and we’d give it all away.’”

Kelli stepped out of the room and returned with a pencil and notebook. That night, the Smiths created Thousand Hills Cattle, based on the oft-quoted Psalm 50:10 — “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.”

“God owns it all anyway, so I figured we could give it all away,” said Michael, a Shelby County Farmers Federation board member. “We started saving money to buy freezers, and I started looking for producers who we could buy beef from. Lowndes County’s David Lee was the first person to call me back.”

Despite not having a background in agriculture, Michael said he’d been enamored with the industry since reading the Federation’s Neighbors magazine at his grandparents’ house. Michael joined ACA to meet producers for Thousand Hills, which lead to involvement in YCLP and his position as ACA’s industry outreach manager. 

“Everything we buy is from Alabama farms,” Michael said. “We work out different deals with producers like the Colliers and go through churches and schools to identify families facing hardship. We’ve never had to tell anyone, ‘No.’”

With the slogan “Cattlemen Producing Hope,” Collier said Thousand Hills opened a door for him to use abilities honed in A.L.F.A. Leaders. 

“The whole purpose of A.L.F.A. Leaders is to develop skills to take back home and make an impact in our part of the state,” Collier said. “As farmers, even if you’re working on your own, there’s a sense of community. A lot of farmers are people of faith because so much of what we do is out of our hands. Part of that comes back to taking care of our neighbors. If we’re going to tend His land, we need to do what He says.”