KELSEY, Alta. -The discovery of a single cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy has created havoc with cattle markets across Canada, but increased sales for an Alberta farm couple with Irish cattle.
On their central Alberta farm, Don and Joan Gregorwich raise and sell Dexter cattle, the smallest purebred breed of cattle in the world. The combination of what they raise and how they raise them, with no hormones or antibiotics, has created more demand for the beef than they can supply.
“All of our animals are in demand. Sadly since BSE came along, things have improved for us,” said Don who doesn’t take comfort in his business boom at the expense of others.
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Since the discovery of BSE, more consumers have taken a closer look at the meat they eat.
Last year’s drought forced the couple to cut their herd from 80 to 40 animals, not enough to keep up with the number of people who want naturally raised beef in a small size.
The small cuts of meat have caught on with consumers who don’t want a freezer full of beef. A side of Dexter beef can be packed home in two to three camping-type coolers. A t-bone steak just a little larger than a pork chop and a 11/2 kilogram roast will nicely feed a couple with leftovers.
“It’s a practical size for a lot of people,” said Joan.
As people age and kids leave home, many couples don’t want a 41/2 kg roast that will last for days.
While consumers start to realize the benefits of smaller cuts of meat, few producers are willing to give up traditional ways of raising beef in a feedlot or selling it through an auction market.
“The concept is there, however producers are naturally reluctant to embrace the concept because it requires direct marketing,” said Don, who learned first hand the rejection that comes with direct marketing.
The first time he went to a farmer’s market with a combination of meat, dried wheat arrangements and crafts, he brought it all back home.
“I don’t think I made a single sale. They came to my table and walked away,” said Don, remembering his shock when the customers didn’t flock to his table.
“The first time he came home, he was mighty disgruntled,” said Joan.
Since then Don has accepted direct marketing is a combination of rejection, developing a thick skin, relationship building and time. Now, there is a waiting list for all the Dexter meat they can produce and their pasture-raised chickens and turkeys sell within days. With each sale the network of customers builds and the selling gets easier.
Since moving to Kelsey recently, Joan has started a desktop publishing and web design business and creates unique crafts. Her favourite is a box of bug-ominoes, a box of 28 wooden domino pieces hand painted with grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies and other bugs. She also wants to paint a set of flower-ominoes, each domino featuring prairie flowers.
“I want to do things that are unique,” said Joan, whose home is filled with painted crafts and pictures.
Her life has changed dramatically since quitting her job as the assistant general manager and advertising director of the Daily Times in Ottawa, Illinois, south of Chicago, to move to a farm outside Kelsey, never more than a whistle stop in its prime.
“It’s 100 percent different than my old life,” said Joan, who has thought about taking a job in nearby Camrose, but would rather make her web design and craft business work on the farm.
“A person of 25 to 30 may not be as content with this,” said Joan, who is willing to sacrifice a regular paycheque for a slower life.
The new life of direct marketing livestock and crafts is just as busy for Don as when he raised hogs and grain full time, but now there’s time to spend over a cup of coffee when visitors pop by.
Don has also taken on the job of workshop facilitator for the new Alberta Environmental Farm Plan that helps farmers and ranchers raise awareness of what they do on their farm and how it affects the environment. Don leads groups of farmers through a series of workshops that help them complete an environmental review of their farm and create plans for change.
So far, producers have had a positive attitude toward the program, said Don. While they may question some of the material, they don’t question the importance of taking a closer look at the way they farm.
Even the Gregorwich farm has come under closer scrutiny since he began leading the workshops.
“We’ve found a variety of projects we’re going to have to pay attention to,” said Don.
The farm plan has forced them to do something with the barrels of waste oil under the gas tanks, the old batteries in the garage and the old hog sewage lagoon.
“It’s a natural fit,” said Joan. “We know as farmers the importance of the land we live in.”
