Yellow Bayou Beef grows family business near Simmesport

By Aliya Deshotel

Yellow Bayou Beef, operated by Todd and Tyler Voiselle near Simmesport, offers locally raised and locally sourced beef to customers in Avoyelles Parish and surrounding areas.

The business sells hanging beef in quarters, halves and whole calves and recently expanded to offer individual retail cuts through private label approval.

For customers, the appeal is simple: they know where their food comes from.

The business began nearly 30 years ago when Todd Voiselle started raising freezer beef for his own family with two crossbred steers. Over time, he began selling beef to others who wanted locally raised meat.

Through repeat customers, word of mouth and trust, the operation continued to grow. For years, Todd fed calves, kept some for his family and sold others to local customers.

His son, Tyler, later saw an opportunity to expand through social media and advertising. That idea helped turn a longstanding family practice into a more formal local business.

What once involved finishing four or five calves a year grew to more than 30 in 2025.

Today, Todd remains the familiar face of the business, while Tyler helps with advertising, social media and reaching new customers. Together, their goal is to provide quality beef local families can trust.

Yellow Bayou Beef raises or locally sources calves, handpicking each one. The calves graze before being grain-finished for a minimum of 100 days. They have access to feed and clean water around the clock and are finished on premium feed from Covered C Feedmill.

The Voiselles sell hanging beef directly to customers and coordinate with the butcher so orders can be cut to preference. Customers may purchase quarters, halves or whole calves, depending on their freezer needs.

With Yellow Bayou Beef now approved for a private label, the business can also sell individual cuts. Ground meat is the most popular retail item, while half calves remain the top choice for families wanting a variety of cuts.

Retail cuts are available for pickup at the farm or at farmers markets, including the indoor farmers market at La Petite Affaire Café in Marksville.

Tyler said most customers are from Avoyelles Parish and surrounding areas.

“They are our family, friends and neighbors,” he said. “Knowing they trust us to provide the beef that feeds their families means everything.”

For Todd and Tyler, Yellow Bayou Beef is about more than selling meat. It is about supporting local agriculture and keeping money in the community.

Buying local beef also helps support feed mills, hardware stores, butchers and other small businesses tied to the farm-to-table process.

The work takes patience. Tyler said many people do not realize how long it takes to raise a calf from birth to slaughter. A finished animal can spend 12 to 14 months on pasture, followed by three to four months on grain before it is ready. Still, Tyler does not describe the work as just a job.

“I wouldn’t consider it work,” he said. “I’d call it a hobby. Being able to share a hobby that both father and son enjoy is something special.”

For Tyler, the most meaningful part of the business is not only watching it grow, but working beside his father. Some of his favorite memories include trips to the feed mill, delivering finished calves to the processor, visiting local ranchers to buy cattle and helping other ranchers work their herds.

Now, that connection has reached another generation. Tyler’s son, Trace, has started joining them, making the work even more meaningful.

“It means everything,” Tyler said of passing the work down. “I hope that for years to come, when someone wants to fill their freezer with beef, the first thing they think of is the Voiselle family and Yellow Bayou Beef.”

The reward, Tyler said, often comes after the sale, when customers call, send photos of meals or share how much they enjoyed the beef.

Through it all, Yellow Bayou Beef remains rooted in the bond between father and son and the relationships they have built with local customers.

Tyler said he is most proud of “the bond between my dad and me, and the relationships we’ve built with our customers.”

From Todd’s early days learning from local cattlemen to today’s partnerships with area processors, feed mills and customers, Yellow Bayou Beef has grown through hard work, local support and strong relationships.

Their hope for the future is simple: to keep growing, support local and pass the work down for generations to come.

Yellow Bayou Beef can be contacted through Facebook or by calling 318-264-8501.