In his quest to generate more profits from his farm, Don Armitage first had to stop thinking of himself as a livestock producer.
“I started to think of myself as a grass farmer,” he said. “Then I just looked into ways that I could put cattle on that grass and make a profit.”
By tapping a consumer niche for grass-finished beef, he captures a $835 per animal premium over auction mart prices.
Armitage and his wife Sandra are third-generation farmers operating Armitage Farms in Miniota, Man. They run two marketing ventures, Glenlochar Grass-Finished Beef, and Glenlochar Kitchens, which sells nine packaged soup mixes. A website at www.glenlochar.ca offers nutritional and background information on both product lines, as well as a listing of retail outlets where the products are available.
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Armitage presented his strategies for marketing and producing grass-finished beef at the 2006 Manitoba Grazing School held in Brandon.
Marketing his beef is the main obstacle to growth, he admitted.
“No one person has the right personality to be good at production, finance and marketing,” he said. “Personally, I tend to lean more toward production and finance. My marketing skills are pretty weak.”
He became interested in grass-finished beef in 1999. He is now pushing his product to tap the real profit potential. According to Armitage, the keys to producing quality grass-fed beef are genetics, intensive grazing, top quality winter forage, low stress handling, and 21 day dry aging.
The best cattle for grass finishing are deep and thick-bodied, he said. Such animals are hard to come by because breeders have generally been going in the opposite direction. While he uses mostly heifers, which tend to fatten easier, he will use more steers once his genetics improve.
The best cows and bulls are ones that maintain their condition year round, without requiring supplementary grain. Temperament is also important. Quiet cattle seem to have more tender meat.
“One of the indicators of temperament I have seen over the years is the hair whorl on the face,” he said. “If the hair whorl is down below the level of the eyes, that’s a good indicator of quiet temperament. If it’s above the eyes, you should beware of that animal. It’s not 100 percent accurate, but I have been watching for it for quite some time now.”
As for management intensive grazing, Armitage said his experience has shown that it is possible to have good standing forage for about eight months of the year, from May 1 to Dec. 31.
“I start off the first week of May with crested wheatgrass, then I switch over into meadow brome grass and alfalfa. When that starts to peter out toward the end of August, I go over to tall fescue,” he said. “The other thing that I’ve used is spring planted fall rye. That tends to be really good quality forage in the fall. You can seed it together with barley, then take the barley off as green feeder silage in July. With good rains, the rye will come on strong after that. You can use the rye again in the spring, so you get another month out of it there.”
Armitage first tried to finish the cattle at 18 months of age, using the top 10 percent of his animals in a leader-follower system.
“The leaders always went into the paddock first, so they got a high energy diet all summer long.”
But even with that strategy, his meat marbling was stuck at “A” grade. While good eating, he said, the cattle were a bit too lean for his customers. By calving in June and July, and carrying the calves on the cows as far into spring as possible, wintering costs are much cheaper.
“The type of cow that will carry her calf right through the winter is the type of cow that is right for grass finishing.”
Now, he finishes his cattle at 24-36 months to get better marbling.
“I can get up to AAA marbling using this system. It’s a lot better eating experience.”
When marketing beef, health claims will only take you so far, he said. Taste, tenderness and “swallowability” trump all other issues.
“You’ve got to have enough fat to lubricate your throat so it swallows easily,” he said. “Also, the things that make it healthier are in the fat, like conjugated lineolic acids, omega 3 and vitamins A and E.”
Keeping the cattle longer lends flexibility to marketing through a value chain, since restaurants and retailers want a constant, uninterrupted supply year-round.
“Although, I sell most of my meat in the fall, I seem to have demand for it at all times of the year.”
One often overlooked aspect of marketing beef is the trip to the abattoir, he said. If an animal is not handled gently, the stress just before slaughter can negate all of the gains from grass finishing, resulting in tough, unappetizing meat.
“Right from birth, you want to make every interaction with humans to be a positive one to prepare them for the day when they go to the slaughter plant. Treat them gentle and work them slow.”
He advised producers to choose an abattoir that has a separate holding facility so that the animals are not exposed to the smells and sounds of other animals being killed.
“I always take two animals at a time so that they have a companion while they are there. Another option is to lead them right up to the chute yourself.”
On-farm butchering, if available, is also a good way to get superior meat, he added.
For aging, 21 days is best. Any less and the full benefits are not realized. Any longer offers no benefit.
He urged other producers taking the direct marketing route to avoid slashing prices to drum up business.
“Compete on quality and service. There’s a good premium to be had, so we might as well have it.”
