The Wind Beneath Your Wings

MEAT+POULTRY - February 2026
"Shannon Kearney, owner and operator of KC Meats & Eats in Olathe, Kansas, grew up in a family that embodied an entrepreneurial spirit. She saw family members operate various businesses from a wedding hall to an event center and winery. Watching those endeavors significantly impacted what she believed she could achieve.
"I was just raised that way - that you can do it and be confident in yourself and you can make your own way," Kearney said.
ROOTS IN AGRICULTURE
She also grew up on a dairy farm with 80 to 100 cattle, giving her a foundation in animal agriculture that motivated her to apply what she learned as she was growing up.
"My experiences in 4-H and FFA helped grow the passion I have for raising animals and providing excellent care for them," Kearney said. "Through doing different FFA and 4-H projects, I learned skills about maintaining records and running a business as well."

A nice interview, but desperately in need of fact-checking, in particular the first four paragraphs.
1st and 2nd Paragraphs: They are partially factual - the Kearney side of her genetics is hard-working, clever, and enterprising, I certainly learned a lot about plants and gardening during the early years of my marriage to her father. However, Shannon left out my family's contribution to that Entrepreneurial Spirit. Of course she was raised to know that she could "do it and be confident in yourself", I raised her, with help from my sisters and single mother. Our mother, who once told a very stupid newspaper manager: "you have no idea of what my girls can do," raised three girls with no child support. Printer's ink runs strong through our veins - starting in 1898 and continuing on through this day. We three sisters wrote our grandmother's biography/memoir and continue to keep her message alive and relevant. And that isn't even my biggest accomplishment, as far as Shannon's "foundation in animal agriculture" motivation goes - which leads me to...
3rd and 4th paragraphs: The dairy farm she grew up on was MINE, a freshly divorced mother of a ten-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. MY farm, started with one Jersey family milk cow, Susie. MY sweat, MY tears, MY determination. ​MY DREAM. And the numbers she threw out there, 80 to 100 cattle??? Please! That is not only an exaggeration, but also a flat-out lie. The most cows I ever milked, not counting heifers and bull calves, was 30 - and 1/3 of those were leased. Even that took at least 4 hours PER MILKING, and then there was the cleanup, feeding babies, getting hay, etc. We also had horses, and from time to time there were pigs, chickens, goats, rabbits - I took care of them all. 4-H and FFA were a family affair, this article makes it seem like she did it all by herself. Actually, if the reader was only going by what is written, they would infer that it was her dad's dairy. Girl, either recognize and proclaim my laurels or get off of them!
This article left out your most important influence - me. I have never discounted how smart, hardworking, or beautiful you are, it's amazing how much you have forgotten about your childhood, and me. I gave you your child support money when you turned 16, and your fair share of the milk check, since I was milking so many of your cows and heifers. I taught you how to ride horses, taught you about taxes and how small businesses work, even went with you when you bought your first herd of bred cows. Remember the day we chased that calf around the neighboring field? At the end of that day you said to me, "I don't know how you did it (dairy farming) all those years." I don't know how I did it either, but I did. And raised two kids while I was at it, an effort you never had to deal with. Perhaps because I had a good foundation, built on the bones of hard-working women, and my own exemplary work ethic.
I can't do anything about this article, certainly won't make a scene, but it's doubtful that I will be able to stay silent the next time my contribution to your success is ignored. As a start you can update your "About" page on Kearney Cattle LLC to say, "I was raised on a farm and spent my early years milking cows on MY MOM'S dairy farm in Stewartsville, Missouri." See how easy that is? Tell the truth. Don't you know, especially in the agriculture world, you will have way more impressive kudos if you mention that you were raised by a single mother who had the balls to leave an abusive husband and make her own dairy farm - from scratch?
***UPDATE***
Now we have another article: Spotlight on Shannon Kearney | Shop Kansas Farms | Brought to you by Kansas Farm Bureau
I subscribe to Shop Kansas Farms, so didn't have to go far to find this article. Once again, no mention of me as having any kind of influence on your cattle enterprise. You mentioned that MY dairy kept you tied to the farm, with two milkings and no vacations. Baloney - you rarely helped for two milkings in a row, and if you recall, you were on "vacation" every single one of your summer years, either at your dad's, Kathy's, or grandparent's homes. Every holiday you and Brad were gone, because I didn't think it was fair for you to be tied to MY milking schedule, MY DREAM. First generation cattle farmer - really? In addition, I have been a Farm Bureau member for 43 years, so watch the tale you're spinning about your childhood and who's shoulders you stood on, I won't let that slide. People who know me know the truth about my farm, my hard work, my contribution to your success. Reporters and readers would be a lot more impressed if they truly knew your authentic roots.
​Your mother, Carla Russell

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