Encouraging news (via the American Farmland Trust):  The USDA-ARS (Ag Research Service) is actively researching and supporting on the feasibility and actuality of eating local on the East Coast.

The idea is to ultimately build a map that shows where, along the nation’s East Coast, people would have the opportunity to buy locally produced food — and where they wouldn’t. After all, between 2002 and 2007, some 911,000 acres of farmland along the Eastern Seaboard was taken out of agricultural production to make way for housing, shops and other development.

The reasons for supporting local are many.  (and I’m probably preaching to the choir here); fresher food, supporting local communities and rural ag development,  less dependence on foreign food supplies, less volatility due to fluctuating fuel (transportation) costs.  Not to mention the more intangible support of quality of life through keeping agriculture more local.  I even heard a historical theory recently that the demise of most great civilizations was precipitated by massive urbanization and loss of the ability to be self sufficient in producing food.

One more encouraging sign out of Obama’s ag administration.

I often encounter reluctance to try local pastured meats (much less pay a premium price for them) because there is a general bias in this country that “grain fed” is higher quality.  I suspect most of Wild Type Ranch’s first-time customers buy our beef because of one or more of the following reasons; we’re local, no feedlots, no hormone implants, no routine antibiotics, compassionate animal care, environmental stewardship, grass/pastured meat health benefits.  Unless they’ve been referred by an existing customer, “quality” or “fantastic eating experience” isn’t usually mentioned.

I just returned from four days at the “Gourmet Beef on Grass III” conference. My head is swimming with ideas, inspiration and new questions.

The main focus of the conference was producing quality beef using sustainable methods.  It doesn’t happen without knowledge and planning,  but more and more ranchers are creating a “wow” eating experience for their customers.
Not all beef is created equal, however.  If you are a consumer, here’s the CLIF notes to getting good beef locally:

• Buy beef from someone who is knowledgeable about beef.  Great beef doesn’t just happen, it takes good management and good genetics.
• Ask what breed or kind of cattle are producing the beef.  Good beef is more likely to come from English breeds, which include Angus, Red Angus, Devon, Lowline, Hereford, Dexter and Shorthorn.
• Ask how old the cattle are when they are harvested.  Good beef comes from cattle that grow at a reasonably steady rate.  If the beef is from animals older than about 30 months,the flavor MAY be stronger than you like, and the meat is less likely to be well-marbled and tender.
• Ask if the producer has taste-tested steaks from the beef they are selling, or otherwise guaranteed tenderness.
• Ask for a guarantee (replacement or refund) on your beef.
• Pay attention to the brand you are buying.  Find beef you like and stick to that producer or brand. (then you won’t have to ask these questions each time!)

Great beef is out there, and more and more ranchers are producing it.  At this conference, we scientifically tested the tenderness of 12 different steaks from different producers (including 3 of ours).  All twelve scored in the “tender” category.  I challenge anyone to buy steaks from the regular meat case at twelve grocery stores that would score tender 12 /12 times.

Tenderness, in particular, is something someone growing cattle for the feedlot is not paid for, so will not breed into their cattle.  When you buy direct from the rancher, however, it is among our primary quality concerns.  That’s why our ranch has a strict policy of “if it’s not tender and juicy, we don’t sell it”.  We’re not alone among local brands.

If you haven’t ventured into the land of locally produced, pastured meat, take your CLIF notes, find yourself a good producer and get ready to spoil yourself for life.

Sometimes we need a little reminder about our “highest calling” in this life.

It’s a tough time to be in business for one’s self, and to be in the ranching business seems to be even tougher.  Sometimes, my husband and I think we’d be better off just holding the ranch as an investment in land, rather than trying to run a natural beef and angus breeding stock business.  My head is usually in the numbers (even in my sleep); budgets, breeding values, calf weights, DNA test scores…

Today, I made some choices with my time that left me behind in my “business necessities” at the end of the day, and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  What was supposed to be 2 hours working at the elementary school book fair turned out to be 4 because no one showed up to take my place.  Teacher conferences, homework, and errands seemed to take up the rest of the “business” day.

Late this evening, when I came in from packing up orders for tomorrow’s farmer’s markets and deliveries, I found the following post from fellow ranch-wife, Karen.  Karen and her husband are less than 2 weeks away from the annual breeding stock sale that makes or breaks their financial year.  Today, Karen had time for her Mom, a turtle and a young wife in need of chili-counseling.

Today, I heard from both of my children’s teachers that they are an asset in the classroom, and both are looked to as leaders by the other students.  [this is the boys’ first year in public school, so it has been an adjustment and a concern for us].

If I was still working as an executive, I’m not sure they’d be in the same place.  I’m darn sure I wouldn’t have spent the morning at the book fair. Carpe tortuga (seize the turtle)

This is a post that’s been begging to be written ever since the NY Times article came out.  In fact, I could write several posts, but I’ll restrain myself.

Ground beef is the protein backbone of the American diet.  For such a food staple, people are surprisingly ignorant about how it is processed.  Even Chowhound admitted surprise that the hamburger patties in the article were formed from a number of sources, including fat trim and scraps.  The ground beef you typically buy (unless you typically buy locally from a known source) is blended from multiple slaughter facilities, and is primarily the fat and scrap trim and/or cull cows (primarily dairy) and bulls.  The time between when the trim is cut and the beef is ground is typically several days.  Carcasses in most plants are not tested for contaminants (such as E coli), only the beef after its ground.

As a youngster eating homegrown beef, I remember tasting the meatloaf mix before it went into the oven.  It would be insane to do so with typical commercially available ground beef.  Even then, I was taking some risks, but probably less than eating at a typical buffet line.

This year our ranch will sell between 15,000 and 20,000 pounds of packaged beef, about 40% of that in the form of ground beef, hamburger patties or chili beef.  Each package is from a single animal, with a known health history and slaughter date (not to mention pedigree and name), ground and frozen on the day the carcass is cut.  We sell beef from pedigreed Angus stock, completely raised on pasture, no hormone implants or routine antibiotics, on a ranch dedicated to humane animal treatment and environmental stewardship.  Our retail price for a single pound is $5.00; for 10-packs it’s $38.00.  We charge significantly less to wholesale outlets, restaurants and institutions.

Yet, we still struggle to find outlets for our beef.  The grocery chains typically are not anxious to deal with a local supplier for a single food item.  They also want to sell fresh product, delivered weekly, rather than the frozen beef we sell, which is harvested every 2-3 weeks.  Restaurants are struggling with their margins, and even at prices near-zero-profit margins for us, we still are more expensive than mass-market ground beef.  We can’t compete with 60 cents/lb trimmings and $1.20/lb “recovered lean” from melted fat trim (main components of the Cargill burger in the article).

Which points out one of the conundrums of our food system.  Mass production, utilizing discarded resources (cull animals and trim), centralized processing and distribution all lower food prices.  Add on the convenience factor of dealing in large volumes, and beef like ours hardly stands a chance.  Given information and a choice, at equal prices, and equal availability., I like to think a majority of consumers would choose a product similar to our Wild Type Ranch beef.  I’m thankful to all my customers who are willing to go the extra mile (sometimes literally) to do so.

From my very first post, I’ve maintained that local/alternative/progressive or whatever label you want to use is not an either/or choice for American Agriculture. Deputy Secretary of Ag, Kathleen Merrigan, said it very eloquently and completely yesterday as she discussed the KYF2 (Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food) program more in-depth.

Our food production and distribution system has some serious flaws, but it also has some parts that work pretty well.  Not everyone can afford $4-$5/lb chicken.  I sometimes wax evangelical on food-system reform, but I still believe it’s got to work into the system, not wholesale replace it.  We (farmers) can’t see each other as enemies, just because we use different practices.  All farmers ARE rock stars.  Thanks deputy secretary Merrigan

Other posts on the subject:

Living between Sesame Street and the Meatrix

Local Meat, friend or foe to animal agriculture?

What should we eat, and how should it be produced?