238 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ October 2007

As Stan Gentle smashes a couple of meatballs with a spatula, a man walks

up to the Angus producer’s farmers’ marketstand and points at the searing meat. Helistens to the juices sizzling in the skillet andtakes a big whiff.

“Are those ready yet, Stan?” he asks.“Not quite,” Gentle replies. “Give me a

moment, Brent.”Gentle small-talks with the man and

sticks a toothpick in a meatball. Brent eyesthe half-dollar-size piece of meat in Gentle’shand and grabs it. He briefly waves the ballunder his nose, inhaling the aroma, andpops it in his mouth. He closes his eyes andchews slowly.

“Ah,” Brent says, “it doesn’t get muchbetter than this. … I’ll have two patties.”

Gentle reaches into a red cooler and pullsout two $6-per-pound (lb.) Angushamburger patties. The man gives him $20and walks away with a toothpick in hismouth. Several more people walk up toGentle’s stand, reading the sign, “grass-fed,no antibiotics or hormones.”

At one point, he is surrounded byonlookers waiting for a taste of meat in amarket filled with flowers and vegetables.Almost everybody here buys a couple ofpatties, a ribeye for $14 per lb., ground porkor lamb. For the Prospect, Ky., shoppers,Gentle provides — in their words — “thebest meat in town.”

The 45-head Angus and Devonproducer has found a profitable niche inthe Louisville metro farmers’ markets. Hetypically sells everything in his coolers,and sometimes a single person buys it all.Occasionally, he’ll sellhalves at roughly $3.85 perlb. His customers are notshy of paying a premiumprice because, Gentle says,“They are tired of thequality they get fromCostco and Wal-Mart.They want a good steak,and people like supportingthe local guy.”

A new way to make moneyGentle is part of a growing group of

farmers and ranchers who have cut outmiddlemen and started selling directly toconsumers. According to the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA), thereare 4,385 farmers’ markets currentlyoperating in the United States, representingan 18% increase from 3,706 farmers’markets in 2004. This growth indicatesfarmers’ markets are meeting the needs of anumber of small- to medium-scale farmers,USDA says. In fact, farmers’ markets have

become so popular thatSecretary of AgricultureMike Johanns declaredAug. 5-11, 2007,National Farmers’Market Week.

Research alsoindicates the farmers’market venture can beprofitable. According toa 2000 USDA study,82% of markets are

“Just because you’re a

great producer doesn’t

mean you’ll be a great

marketer of meat.

[Retail] is a whole

different business.”— Glen Nader

Grass-Fed: Boon or BaneGrass-fed producers make a nice living in farmers’ markets;

however, some say the negative marketing tactics of some are bad for the beef industry.

Story & photos by Fred Minnick

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October 2007 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ 239

sufficient to pay for all costs associated withthe operation of the market.

There’s no available dataindicating how much Angusbeef is sold through farmers’markets, but chances are it’s arelatively small percentageconsidering farmers’ marketsmake up less than 1% of totalfood sales, says Glen Nader,livestock and natural resourcesadvisor for the University ofCalifornia CooperativeExtension.

At the beginning of Nader’sresearch in 1996, the cattleindustry was in a deepdepression and land costs wereextremely high. Meanwhile, Californiadevelopment was booming and rancherswere losing their land.

“We were looking at how can somebodybe sustainable and hold onto the ranch,”Nader says.

Nader found farmers’ markets have givenranchers a new way to make money,

especially whenproducers targetmiddle- to upper-income femaleconsumers, aged 25 to65 years old.According to thereport, theseconsumers tend to bewell-educated aboutfood consumption,health issues andquality in terms ofbrands. After threeyears of marketing tothem and selling atone farmers’ market,the producer involvedin the study earnednet sales of $294,000.

But not everyrancher is cut out forthe retail business,Nader says.

“Just because you’rea great producerdoesn’t mean you’ll bea great marketer ofmeat,” he says.“[Retail] is a wholedifferent business.”

Farmers’ marketsalso require large insurance policies, andthere are state “health officers who are verydemanding and want adequate assurancesthat the meat will be below criticaltemperatures during storage and transport.”

Then there are the people who can get

annoying if you’re not a “people person,”Nader says. “Some producers are producers

because they want to be outin God’s country lookingover pastures. They’re notreally interested in workingwith people. If that’s yourmind-set, you need to stayaway from farmers’markets. But if you likeworking with people,farmers’ markets can befun and very rewarding,”because you developrelationships withcustomers and they oftengive compliments.

However, if the meat isbad, “you’ll get your share of complaints,”Nader adds.

Targeting the big dollars Although studies indicate farmers’ market

shoppers have a good deal of disposableincome and are willing to pay more than thegeneric retail price, many cattle producersuse these venues as a stepping-stone torestaurants and premium grocers.

Darrell Wood’s 1,300-head California-based Angus ranch, Panorama Meat Inc., soldin farmers’ markets seven years ago out ofnecessity because of the crashed cattle market.

“We were just trying to figure out a nichemarket where we can give ourselves, ourkids, a future in the cattle business,” Woodsays. “We tried the freezer beef business,where we advertised and shipped beef frozendirectly to the consumer’s houses.”

Wood took the excess of the freezer beefto farmers’ markets and “basically pulled upwith a freezer in the back of a pickup andunloaded it and went to selling. It’s effective,but [the farmers’ market] is a business byitself when you’re running a ranchingoperation. Ultimately, most of these farmers’markets are on weekends and evenings,which take away from family.”

Wood says he’s glad Panorama Meat is nolonger selling at farmers’ markets. It was toolabor-intensive with a small payoff, he says.These days, Panorama Meat sells directly toWhole Foods and Chipotle Mexican Grill,two companies that have wowed Wall Streetby consistently doubling quarterly estimates.He also sells to Trader Joe’s and HEB, butreaching this pinnacle is no easy feat.

“They don’t just jump out and say ‘Oh,you guys want to sell meat for our stores?Great. Here’s the supermarket sales space.’ Itdoesn’t work that way,” Wood says. “You’vegot to prove yourself; your process has toprove itself.”

Wood says the natural food retailers andCONTINUED ON PAGE 240

“Producers selling

direct to consumers

should always take

the high road, citing

benefits of their

products rather than

denigrating other

beef in general,”

— Steve Suther

@Stan Gentle passionately believes in his all-natural operation, which is currently under re-view for organic certification. And when itcomes to beef, there’s no doubt in his mind thatthe grass-fed beef he sells at the local farmers’market is better for consumers than traditional-ly raised beef.

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240 ■ ANGUSJournal ■ October 2007

restaurants conduct thorough inspections,analyzing everything from soil to barn spaceto fencing to animal welfare.

“When it comes to Whole Foods, theanimal welfare and the food safety checklistis almost as thick as a spring issue of Searsand Roebuck. The same with Chipotle,”Wood says. “It takes two or three years orlonger for them to give you the nod, becauseI think they’ve been burned by smallerprocessors before that have made promisesof supply and quality and haven’t been ableto back it up in the long run.”

Negative marketing Landi McFarland, Hoover Angus Farms,

Ellston, Iowa, believes selling beef atfarmers’ markets is neither beneficial norderogatory on an industry level. But, shesays, what upsets her is how some farmers’market producers go about selling theirmeat. She says the marketing mentality of“natural” and “organic” beef as being betterfor you than traditional beef is deceiving.

“Truth of the matter: A 3-ounce servingof organic beef has 1.3 nanograms ofestrogen, whereas a conventionally raisedsteer (receiving growth promotants) has 1.9nanograms of estrogen,” McFarland says.“The female body has about 480,000nanograms of estrogen. … This isanalogous to one blade of grass in an entirefootball field.”

She says that because there is an optionfor natural and organic beef, “that impliesthere is something wrong withconventionally raised beef when, in fact,there is absolutely nothing wrong withconventionally raised beef. When aconsumer pays a premium for a product orservice, you expect to receive a betterproduct, but what is better about natural ororganic beef? If you want a more tender,juicy steak, select a higher quality grade, notnatural or organic.”

But some chefs and consumers swearthere is a better taste to organic and all-natural. Sixty-six percent of U.S. consumers

report they use organic productsat least occasionally, according toThe Hartman Group’s report,“Organic Food & BeverageTrends 2004: Lifestyles, Languageand Category Adoption.”

However, demand alone doesnot constitute using negativemarketing tactics to spread theword of all-natural beef, believesRyan Lum of the Hawaii-basedNorth Shore Cattle Co., whichsells directly to consumers infarmers’ markets and othervenues.

“Our whole marketing philosophy isbased on being unique, and so we are alwaystalking up the benefits of our grass-fed, all-natural beef,” Lum says. “We try not to focusor talk about anything negative aboutfeedlot-raised beef, but rather on the positivesof our beef. We are strong supporters of theentire beef industry and, therefore, neverwant to highlight anything negative.”

Not all grass-fed producers remainpositive about the whole beef industry,Wood says.

“I don’t see a distinction between organicgrass-fed and regular grain-fed beef —enough to where anybody could make thosestatements,” he says. “There’s consumerdemand for the specific product that we’reraising, and consumers are willing to payextra. I don’t agree with the [grass-fed isbetter] philosophy at all.”

“Producers selling direct to consumersshould always take the high road, citingbenefits of their products rather thandenigrating other beef in general,” says SteveSuther, director of industry information forCertified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). “Althoughsome consumers want to believe their onlyroute to wholesome beef is at the farmers’market, the facts would not support that.”

However, Gentle’s not buying the softmarketing pitch. He passionately believes inhis all-natural operation, which is currentlyunder review for organic certification. Infact, the Kentucky farmer and his wife, Leila,are taking the canola frying oil from theirrestaurant — Stan’s Fish Sandwich — andconverting it to biofuel for his tractors. Andwhen it comes to his grass-fed cattle, there’sno doubt in Gentle’s mind that his grass-fedbeef is better for consumers.

Gentle tells his customers about the“harmful effects of antibiotics andhormones in beef.”

“We’ll develop a resistance to drugs wemight need some day if we keep eating meatfilled with antibiotics,” he says. “And we have12- and 14-year-old girls running aroundthese days a lot more developed than theyshould be because of hormones used inanimals.”

Although Gentle realizes his commentsmay fall on deaf ears in the beef industry, hebelieves more producers will follow demandand eventually convert to grass-fedoperations.

“Five years ago, it was a bad thing to sayyou were organic or natural in the industry,”he says. “Now look.”

Editor’s Note: Fred Minnick is a professionalwriter and photographer based in Louisville, Ky.

Grass-Fed: Boon or Bane CONTINUED FROM PAGE 239

@Above: For the Prospect, Ky., shop-pers, Gentle provides — in their words —“the best meat in town.”

@Right: Consumers pay Gentle $6 perpound for hamburger, $14 per pound forribeyes.

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