My name is Wes Hornback, the owner of Sunset Acres alongside my wife, Sara. The ag industry has always been a big part of my life. Growing up, we raised pigs, cattle, and grew corn and soybeans near Chrisman, Illinois. Being a member of 4-H in my childhood taught me so much about the care and responsibility that goes into raising animals. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a part of the animal industry.

When my dad decided to retire from farming, my brother and I both wanted to stay in the industry. My brother, Will, was always drawn more to the row crop business while my passion has always been on the animal front, specifically in nutrition. This passion led me to pursue a master’s degree in Ruminant (Cattle) Nutrition at the University of Illinois.

While completing my degree, I had the pleasure to meet a wonderful woman who I now call my wife. Sara grew up in Buchanan, Michigan, and was also passionate about animals, although her preferred hooved animal is a horse. She received a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Michigan State University (don’t hold it against her) before moving to Illinois and working as the store manager at a local feed store. After completing my education, we moved west where I took a role as a cattle consultant in Western Illinois, covering the west side of the state and a portion of Missouri, and Sara began working at ADM Animal Nutrition as a formulation and pricing specialist.

After 4 years, we were given an opportunity to move back to Central Illinois and we purchased a home and some acres in Monticello. Today, I work as a Cattle Tech Specialist for Purina Animal Nutrition and Sara works as a product manager for AgCreate Solutions, Inc. in Monticello.

When we moved to Monticello, we realized there was a need for locally grown beef in the area and that is how Sunset Acres was born. We have always sold a few animals to friends and family but knew there were many who didn’t have the freezer space to take a quarter of beef every year. That’s when we decided to sell individual cuts along with quarters, halves, and whole beef.

Since 2019, we have grown to provide the families in our community with great tasting beef. In 2021, we partnered with two farms to expand our offering and provide locally raised pork. We are so thankful for our community who have supported us in the past years, and we are very excited to see what the future will hold!

Our passion lies with the animals we raise where we believe three things go into raising beef responsibly: Land, Environment, and the Animals.

Land: We utilize practices like rotational grazing to help build soil and increase water holding capacity. Pollinators have so many different benefits so we try to implement a variety of plant species to allow them to thrive on our property and create a diverse population.

Environment: By providing shade in the pasture, scratching posts in the lots, and many other practices we provide the best environment possible for our herd. Cattle comfort is something that we work on every day through keeping lots clean, providing fresh water, and managing flies in the summer time. All these practices not only improve the health and wellbeing of our animals, but also provides a great environment for our cattle to thrive.

Animals: Healthy and stress free is what we all strive for. Our cattle are no different; by utilizing best practice methods of low stress cattle handling and nutrition we have animals that stay healthy and provide our family and yours with safe, nutritious food.

We welcome any questions you may have on our operation and our animals. We love to talk with our community so feel free to let us know if you have any questions about our operation!