Better Beef

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

“It was a steep learning curve for everyone,” Nation says, noting grass-finished beef is now about 1 percent of the U.S. market. He predicts it will be about 10 percent in seven to 10 years; Robinson is estimating 5 percent.

“For it to come from nothing to 1 percent is pretty good,” Nation adds. “The U.S. wholesale beef market is $770 million, and it doubles that at retail, so 1 percent is $100 million. One of the things about being small and in a niche is the product is selling for a premium price, and that’s what makes it great for these small farmers.”

Nation says producers get the highest returns by selling grass-fed meat through farmer’s markets and other such direct-to-the-consumer venues.

“This can produce live-weight equivalent prices of $1.80 to $2 per pound,” he says. (Feedlot cattle currently sell for $1 to $1.40 per pound.) “Farmers and ranchers who direct market can often clear in excess of $1,000 per head on a 1,000-pound animal,” Nation says. Some grass-fed ranchers are getting more than $20 per pound for their most tender steaks and roasts. Liver can command that amount, too, because the liver from feedlot animals tends to have lesions — a result of feeding them too much grain, Robinson says.

Today, some of the long-established grass-finish production herds are getting quite large by earlier standards. Nation, who grew up in a family that raised cattle on pasture, notes he personally knows of herds that now number 800 to 1,500 head. Robinson says she recently has learned of some big new players waiting in the wings with significant amounts of money and plans for even larger herds — “50,000 head of cattle is what one group is aiming for.”

In terms of supply within the industry, she says, in order to finish cattle properly on grass, it takes excellent soil, a chain of forage, the right kind of animal and the right kind of slaughter. “Everything has to be right for it to be an excellent product, and there isn’t a school or an Extension agent to teach you the ropes. In fact, they’ll say you can’t do this. But when a producer gets everything right, the result will be meat as tender and delicious as any meat you’ve ever eaten. And then there are those hidden benefits — the fact that the meat is safe to eat and healthy for you, and that the animal was well-treated and respected. Industrialized meat can’t touch it.”

But not all grass-based ranchers are producing this high-quality meat, according to Robinson. That’s why how-to gatherings such as The Stockman GrassFarmer’s conferences and others (see “Resources”) are needed to help producers improve their grass-finished beef, and why Robinson has conducted taste tests to give producers feedback on how their meat can improve. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) is conducting taste tests, too. Because of the inconsistency of the meat, consumers need to ask the right questions when they’re shopping for grass-fed products, and they may need to be patient as producers work to perfect their products. Nation says, “The grass-fed industry has to recreate its genetic pool and its own infrastructure. It’s like turning a big oil tanker around; it doesn’t turn on a dime.”

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print