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Grass-Fed Beef:Greener Pastures Ahead?
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INTEREST GROWS; WILLFINANCIAL SUCCESS FOLLOW?
GRASSFED BEEF:
Mike Braucher of Sunshine Harvest Farmnear Webster, Minn. has about 80 headof cattle. In addition to producing andmarketing grass-fed beef directly toconsumers and restaurants, he is alsoproducing lamb, pork, chicken, and eggs.
cover story
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Its a tough business for farmers, wholook at more than the bottom line.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK A. WEBER
Mike Brauchers career change, from structural engi-
neer to farmer, makes little sense. Except, of course,
for this: Farming is his passion.This pretty much sums up the current crop of
grass-fed beef farmers in Minnesota. They are a passionate lot, and
better be, because the odds seem overwhelmingly stacked against them.
Grass-fed beef occupies a tiny niche, perhaps not much more than
1 percent of the overall beef market in Minnesota. Beef consumption
itself is down among Americans, and the corn-fed variety favored by
most is almost always cheaper and reaches slaughter weight faster than
its grass-fed cousin. More money can usually be made raising commod-
ity crops, where pay-offs come quicker and subsidies are more likely.
And grass-fed beef farming is particularly hard in Minnesota, wherewinter limits the foraging season and meat processors are sometimes
located many miles away. To top it off, grass-fed beef farming requires
a lot of land, and farmland prices in Minnesota have spiraled.
All of which explains why so many people in the grass-fed beef
industry are diversified (producing lamb, pork, chickens, eggs, and
more, in addition to beef) and have second jobs (and in some cases
third or fourth jobs).
People who would say, Boy, Id really like to do this theyd
have to put up a couple million dollars to buy land to get started,
says Lee Egerstrom, a veteran Minnesota journalist, author of bookson agriculture, and fellow with the non-partisan think tank called
Minnesota 2020. Thats a terrible barrier to entrance into that niche
market of the beef industry.
And to what extent are consumers long-term willing to pay some
kind of premium price for something that can cost a lot more to
produce? There are consumers who will, obviously, and do. But how
secure are their jobs and whats their income like?
To a certain segment of the market [grass-fed beef] sounds like
a great idea, and then they go to the store and compare the price,
agrees Ron Eustice, executive director of the Minnesota Beef Council,
which works on education and promotion for all of the states beef
producers, grass-fed beef farmers included. Intentions are good, but
the reality of paying more for the same amount of beef is a decision
that sometimes is difficult for some people. I dont see a large number
of consumers willing to pay the premium.
And yet, farmers such as Braucher, of Sunshine Harvest Farm near
Webster, Minn. and Mary Jo Forbord, of Prairie Horizons Farm near
Starbuck, Minn., say such viewpoints overlook several important quali-
ties of grass-fed beef farming that bode well for the future. They say local
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interest in grass-fed beef is growing, and that the passionate, commit-
ted farmer producing grass-fed beef is looking beyond the bottom line
to good stewardship of the land and other natural resources, a direct
relationship with the consumer, and a benefit to the local economy.
Or, as engineer-turned-farmer Braucher who also produces pork,
lamb, chicken, and eggs says with a laugh: I dont make a lot of
money but I eat well!
It doesnt hurt that Americans seem increasingly interested in
where their food comes from and how it was raised. And the grass-fed
cow fares well in that assessment: It eats from the pasture rather than
being finished on or spending its life on a diet of grains and supple-
ments, and thus its advocates say the practice of grass-fed farming is
more humane, better for the planet, and healthier for consumers.
The tiny share of the beef-consumption market that grass-fed beef
occupies also belies the growing choices that consumers have for beef
thats not only been spared the corn, but typically the antibiotics and
artificial growth hormones as well.
Today there is not only local, grass-fed beef available directly from
the farmer, but there are supply chains that allow you to buy from a
middle man (such as the Grass Fed Cattle Co., in Edina, Minn.) and
in the regular supermarket (such as meat from Thousand Hills Cattle
Company, of Cannon Falls, Minn.)
MARKET SHARE GROWING OR IS IT?By and large, all of these sources of grass-fed beef say they are en-
couraged by consumers who are awakening to the benefits of healthy
local, sustainable food. Thats evident in the growth of community-
supported agriculture (CSA) farms listed in Minnesota Grown
annual straight-from-the-grower directory: from 14 CSA listings in
2006 to 85 in 2011.
Grass [beef] farming is in a state of growth; that is my gut feel-
ing, and that it will be in a state of growth were only at the very
beginning, says Forbord, a farmer, nutritionist, and coordinator o
Healthy Eating at the University of Minnesota-Morris.
And of course none of that would be possible if there were no
a complementary growing consumer awareness toward localization
natural resources, conservation those sorts of things, she adds
Even large supermarkets are starting to stock grass-fed beef, such as this CubFoods store.
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Edible Twin Cities Marketplace
Recipes from Thousand HillsThe following recipes use beef from Thousand Hills Cattle Co. and are
the work of Scott Pampuch, executive chef/food and beverage director at
Bloomingtons Minnesota Valley Country Club. Pampuch is also host of the
television show In Search Of Food, on the Ovation network, with new
segments starting in March or April.
PERFECTLY ROASTED PRIME RIBServes: 4-6
1 tablespoon peppercorns
6 bay leaves
1 cup kosher salt
5 allspice berries
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
12 cloves garlic
4 pounds rib eye roast
Toast peppercorns, salt, bay leaves and allspice berries. Chop rose-
mary and garlic. Combine spices, rosemary and garlic. Rub roast and letmarinade for 24 hours. Roast at 400 degrees until thermometer inserted
in middle of the meat reads 125 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest
for 20 minutes.
BRAISED THOUSAND HILLS BEEFServes: 4-6
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 pounds beef brisket
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup flour (just enough to coat all sides of meat)
1 medium onion, finely chopped1 medium carrot, finely chopped
celery rib, finely chopped
2 cups red wine (preferably Burgundy or Chianti)
2 cups beef stock
2 cinnamon sticks
Rosemary sprigs, bay leaf, thyme
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in an ovenproof, 6-quart heavy pot over mod-
erately high heat. Pat the beef brisket dry and season with salt and pepper.
Flour and brown on all sides, about 20 minutes, and transfer to a bowl.
Pour off fat from pot, and then add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook
onion, carrot and celery over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally until
softened, about 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Stir vegetables,add wine and beef stock, and scrape up any brown bits. Increase heat to
high and boil until liquid is reduced by half. Return beef and juices to pot;
add fresh herbs and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a simmer, braise and cover,
place in middle of oven until very tender, 3-4 hours.
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People are buying that now as much as they buy taste, nutrition
and price.
Braucher, who has about 80 head of cattle on his farm south of
the Twin Cities, says he used to spend a lot of time at farmers markets
explaining the benefits of grass-fed beef. But not so much lately. It
seems like people are educated and theyre coming and just buying,
he says. It sells itself.
Still, pinpointing any progress in the grass-fed share of the beef
consumption market is difficult, since so much of the grass-fed supply
chain farmers selling directly to consumers doesnt have the same
mechanisms for tracking sales that exist at supermarkets, for example.
As far as quantifying it, thats a new frontier, Forbord says.
The Beef Councils Eustice, for one, is adamant that even if aware-
ness of grass-fed beef is growing, its share of the market is not. And he
questions some of the claims made on behalf of the grass-fed product
From a nutritional standpoint, the benefits are insignificant and
theyre probably exaggerated by the proponents of grass-fed beef, he
says. Theres very little difference between grass-fed and traditionally
fed beef from a health standpoint.
On the other hand, a 2010 report from California State University
in Chico, published in Nutrition Journal, indicates that grass-fed bee
comes out ahead from a nutritional standpoint, though its unclear i
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theres a meaningful impact on human health. The beneficial omega-3
fatty acids that are higher in grass-fed beef than grain-feed beef are
at levels still far lower than those found, for example, in salmon, ac-
cording to the study. For some folks in the beef industry, the jury is
still out on grass-fed beefs health benefits.
In defense of grass-fed beef, Eustice adds, it offers the con-
sumer an alternative, and we like that. As an industry, we want to be
responsive to the needs of the consumer.
AIMING FOR RESPONSIVE, CONVENIENTBeing responsive to the consumer and especially convenient is
exactly what The Grass Fed Cattle Co. and Thousand Hills Cattle
Company are trying to be.
Abby and Marcus Andrusko are in their fourth year running The
Grass Fed Cattle Co., which connects a cooperative of grass-fed beef
farms with consumers by selling beef in bulk quantities including
through a cow pooling arrangement in which family, friends or co-
workers can share a purchase and pick up their beef at the company
Edina location.
That way, says Abby, people can be assured that theyre getting
100-percent grass-fed beef, with no hormones or antibiotics, at price
lower than grass-fed beef in supermarkets. Its quick, its easy ye
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they still feel a connection to the farm, she says.
In their third year, the number of steers sold by The Grass Fed
Cattle Co. increased from 28 to 47, or about 60 percent. Abou
two-thirds of their customers are women. In addition, 53 percent o
customers come from Minneapolis, St. Paul, or Edina.
From a business perspective for us it continues to grow, Abby
says. I think more and more people are becom
ing aware of grass-fed beef, and that can
only benefit everybody the environ
ment, the animals, the farmers, and
us, the end users, the people that
consume it.
Convenience is also part o
what drives Thousand Hills Cattle
Company to reach beyond food coops
farmers markets, and other smaller outlets
and offer its grass-fed beef products in supermar-
kets, says founder Todd Churchill. Thousand Hills, too, i
growing. Its been in all Minnesota Cub Foods and SuperTarge
stores the past two years, and recently its reach was extended to
SuperTargets in Oklahoma and Texas.
Ive always been resistant to and uncomfortable with the
idea that our product was the kind that would only be sold in
specialty stores, explains Churchill, who gets grass-fed beef from
an eight-state region that includes Minnesota. My goal was always
to make sure grass-fed beef was a choice, an option for consumers no
matter where they bought their food.
I had a hunch that even in a Cub Foods store, even in a Super
Target store, that a reasonable percentage of people, given the choice
would choose to try it and a very high percentage of those people
would like it enough to buy it. And thats being proved by the sales
data we have.
Churchills business model serves to remind what a critical facto
the economies of scale are in farming, and why a diverse operation
and in many cases a second job are so common for the grass-fed bee
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Minnesota farmers,
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7/28/2019 Grass-fed beef article
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farmer who has a small operation and is marketing directly to the
consumer or to restaurants.
In fact, Churchill believes anyone subsisting on only grass-fed
beef farming and having less than 100 head of cattle is going to have
a difficult time making a living.
John Mesko, executive director of the Sustainable Farming As-
sociation of Minnesota, has 160 acres and 25 head of grass-fed cattle
at his Lighthouse Farm near Princeton, Minn. and says he has more
consumer demand for beef than he can fill. Yet, hes come to doubt
whether someone can make it full-time without a second source of
income. I dont think it can be done, he says.
Until consumer demand reaches a tipping point, those pulling
for that small-farmer, direct-to-market part of the food chain suggest
that Minnesota grass-fed beef operations will need to be patient and
smart, build their customer base one step at a time, manage the risk,
have a meat processor nearby, and more.
And, like Braucher, Forbord, Mesko and others, have a zeal for
their work in sustainable farming.
You really have to have the passion for what youre doing to make
it work; to make it last, says Braucher. It makes me happy. I guess
thats how I judge my success.
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