Ranchers have had varying degrees of success marketing their beef directly to the public hoping to capture more value from their herds.
But pounding the pavement and knocking on doors doesn’t appeal to most producers, who, even if they had time to do it, would rather stay focused on production.
Bragi Simundsson of Arborg, Man., and 10 other producers have been direct marketing their grass-fed beef, lamb and pastured poultry under the Prairie Grass Fed Meats brand for about eight years.
Targeting the home freezer market, they have made significant inroads into Winnipeg, servicing the city’s upscale Fusion Grill restaurant, as well as a number of small grocery stores.
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Now, with funding under the Manitoba Functional Food Opportunities Program, they and other cattle producers will have a chance to see how a professional marketer approaches the task when a value chain project is launched in late March.
Paula Havixbeck, a marketing consultant hired by the Manitoba Forage Council, said her strategy has been to research the demand at the local retail and consumer level and then develop a comprehensive plan of attack.
“We’re hoping to get a steady stream of supply, and a steady stream of retailers who are interested in getting on the bandwagon,” said Havixbeck, who unlike most ranchers, loves marketing.
She has been surveying consumers to find out which cuts of beef are preferred, consulting chefs and butchers about product preferences, lining up product testing and developing recipes for distribution.
In the course of bringing both ends of the value chain together, she has concentrated on smaller outlets instead of going to the big stores with their high-volume retail trade.
“We have to learn to walk before we can run,” she said. “It’s also important that we can meet the demand. If we have a few restaurants or one retailer to whom we can supply a steady stream of product, that’s better than blitzing somewhere big and then falling short on the supply side.”
Results of the consumer survey should be available in late January, she said, but initial findings seem to indicate that most of the public don’t know what “grass fed” means. Havixbeck admitted that when she started the project, even she wasn’t completely clear on what the term meant.
In Alberta and the U.S., as well as countries like Argentina and Brazil, the public understands grass fed beef.
So far, Havixbeck said, retailers appear to be keen to put new products on their shelves, especially ones that appeal to customers looking for health benefits. Studies have shown that grass fed beef is higher in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and vitamins than feedlot finished products.
“It’s good for them because it might bring in a new customer and increase traffic into their store,” she said.
Simundsson, who has a 130-head herd, said many of his urban customers are looking for an alternative to feedlot beef and are willing to pay a premium for it.
Although grass fed cattle don’t require expensive grain, the slower rate of gain cancels out much of the benefit of the lower cost of production. On the other hand, direct marketing allows him to keep his operation smaller, because his profit margins per head are greater, he said.
It also makes sense to his customers that ruminant animals should be raised on grass, not grain.
“The main thing they want is hormone and antibiotic-free, but grass fed as well,” he said. “Consumers as a whole are getting more health conscious. I think they are looking for better nutritional quality than they are getting out of the industrial agriculture system.”
Simundsson said his customers come from all economic levels, but the common denominator is higher education. They include parents with young children, aging baby boomers and environmentally minded consumers.
“It’s across the board,” he said. “It’s also people who have done some research on the quality and nutritional value of food.”
Small independent supermarkets would fit the group’s goals, he added, because getting product on the shelves of national grocers is unlikely due to their requirement that all meat be federally inspected.
“You don’t get in unless you have federal inspection and federal inspection here in Manitoba is extremely limited. We’d have to ship the animals out of province to get them slaughtered.”
Prairie Grass Fed Meats, with 10 producer members, is able to supply the current demand, Simundsson said, but more producers might be needed if the value chain project opens up new markets.
Manitoba Agriculture specialist Glenn Friesen said that ideally, a value chain consists of mutually beneficial arrangements for all parties, from the producer, to the abattoir, the butcher and the consumer.
“All the people involved from gate to plate are sitting at the same table and working together to market the product and make sure that everyone involved is making a profit,” he said.
One advantage that Manitoba enjoys, he added, is the relatively large number of locally owned, provincially inspected abattoirs that are willing to handle smaller volumes with specific requirements.
“We have access to smaller abattoirs that are willing to kill smaller volumes of animals in special ways in order to maximize the quality of the meat for a superior eating experience,” Friesen said.
“It’s all about being local and keeping the small companies operational in the rural areas.”
