Shelley Cumming - J&R Meat Company
Shelley Cumming was raised in Springville, California. An animal lover from a young age, Shelley grew up raising livestock, primarily sheep and beef, and was involved in youth agricultural programs. Many childhood memories and habits of hard work were made exhibiting livestock at the Porterville and Tulare County Fairs. Her father, Tom, owned and operated a custom livestock harvesting operation and managed multiple retail meat departments at local grocery stores throughout her childhood. Many would say, “Meat production is in her blood.”
Shelley graduated from Porterville High School in 1990. Persuaded by local cattlemen, Jarod Holve and Dave DeRose, Shelley attended Kings River Community College where she earned an Associates Degree in Animal Science. During her educational journey at Kings River, she participated on the livestock show team prior to transferring to Fresno State University. At Fresno State University she majored in Animal Science with an emphasis in Production Management and a minor in Agriculture Business. During her time at FSU, Shelley worked and lived at the campus Beef Unit where she was the student manager. This enabled her to continue to expand her love for livestock while exhibiting college bred Angus and Charolais cattle and being involved in the Young Cattleman’s Association.
Post college graduation Shelley pursued a career in food safety and quality assurance in agricultural operations throughout the central valley and solidified her background and experience. During this time Shelley married her husband, Sean, and raised two amazing daughters. Both of which are involved in meat production. After 25 years in food safety and operations management, she left the commercial food production industry for greater horizons. In 2022, the opportunity came up to purchase J&R Meat Company in Porterville, CA. An opportunity that would allow her to utilize her strengths, purchase a business that would satisfy a desire to own a multi- generational operated family business, and give back to a community that gave so much to her while growing up.
Owning the iconic little meat shop, known as J&R Meat Company seemed easy at the time, but if you know anything about Shelley, you know that her visions are backed by the theory of “Where there is a will, there is a way!” and projects have no boundaries. Since June 2022 J&R Meat Company has grown in a variety of ways, but the heart of the operation at J&R Meat Company will always be “Where Hometown Customer Service and High Quality Product Come First.”
J&R Meat Company offers the Central Valley of California, and beyond, a variety of high quality protein options that include USDA Prime and Choice Beef, Pork, Lamb, Goat, Chicken, Turkey, and Fish. Deli options include cheese, corndogs, churros, burritos, condiments, fresh and canned vegetables and lunch meats. Other specialty items are readily available, including but not limited to rabbit, duck, goose, and bison. J&R Meat company produces high quality, fresh ground beef, burger patties, diced picada, and a huge selection of unique and flavorful sausages, both bulk packaged and in links. If you don’t feel like doing the cooking, give us a call. J&R Meat Company is known for its deep pit like, cooked beef, chicken, pork and turkey roasts, as well as a variety of options cooked to your liking on the smoker.
Shelley is a member of the Porterville Exchange Club, the Porterville Breakfast Rotary Club and sits on the Fresno State University Animal Science Advisory Board. In her spare time, Shelley enjoys horseback riding, and scuba diving.