Some cattle producers might be considering new ways to market meat as the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis keeps borders closed to live cattle and depresses prices.
When it comes to marketing product from the farm, it is important to choose the best marketing channel to suit the producer’s needs.
Whether the product is available to consumers at farmer’s markets, at the farmgate or through a municipal buying club, it’s important that it be an easy system for the buyer and seller.
“In Alberta, we have nearly 100 approved farmer’s markets. Many successful markets are stationed in and around the urban areas,” said Kerry Engel, with Alberta Agriculture’s farm direct marketing initiative.
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“Advantages to selling through an Alberta approved farmer’s market include immediate cash payment, product feedback and client interaction. As any direct marketer will tell you, feedback from their customers is what makes them ‘market focused’ and supplies them with valuable product and service ideas.”
If the decision is to sell at a farmer’s market, the producer should be prepared for increased labour requirements. Many markets have a waiting list for vendors.
“Farm retailing and farmgate sales are other venues for marketing meat products direct to consumers,” Engel said. “Farmgate sales are the most popular method, with farm retailing quickly expanding in Alberta. Farm retailing is more detailed and involves the development of a store or retail outlet.”
When it comes to farmgate marketing, be sure to work with the local health inspector to determine the requirements in the local health authority regarding food storage and facility guidelines. Good signs and promotional materials inviting customers onto the farm are essential. Producers should greet vehicles promptly as they enter the farm, or make sure there are clear signs informing customers where to park and how or where to make purchases.
A municipal buying club is a group of purchasers that preorder product and pick up in a central location. Development of these clubs primarily evolves out of office buildings or businesses.
Knowing the customer is essential to a successful business. Traditional agriculture is based on producing the product and then finding someone to buy it.
This way of thinking must change to become market focused. Know what the customer wants. Are they filling their deep freeze with beef? Do they like roast, stew and less tender cuts? Direct marketers of meat are finding that they sell more cuts rather than halves, and the cuts that disappear are the high-end ones. This increases the need for creative strategies to market the less tender cuts and hamburger.
Here is how some direct marketers are moving low-end cuts of meat:
- Supply a kilogram of hamburger for every set dollar amount purchased. The cost of the hamburger is worked into the cost of the other cuts.
- Bundle low, medium and high-end cuts into budget, family and fancy packages.
- Work with your processor to develop unique ethnic or regional value-added products like lean sas-katoon berry beef sausages, marinated kabobs or cheese-filled smokies.
- Get inventive with events. Work with local planners to supply hamburger for things like open houses, fairs, rodeos and other special events.
- Rent kiosk space at a mall and sell hamburger. Use this contact with customers to promote the rest of the farm’s meat business.
“When direct marketing meat, and when it comes to regulations involved, it’s often beneficial to work with your processor,” Engel said.
“At the minimum, you will need to have your products slaughtered and processed at a provincially inspected facility.”
Packaging and labelling regulations also need to be addressed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulates labelling in Canada. For more information on the regulations for packaging and labelling and a listing of Alberta provincially inspected facilities, visit www.producer.com and click on links in the news.
“Direct marketers need to decide what makes their product special, unique and different. Is it family farmed, local, grass-fed, pastured, antibiotic-free? It’s important to identify what the product is and why it is valuable. All of the promotional tools you develop need to relay this message too.”
Know the costs and price the product accordingly. With a premium product, don’t undercut its value. Get out of the pattern of allowing the going market price to determine the sales price.
Many producers look for alternative markets like selling direct to the consumer when commodity prices are low.
“By planning ahead and pricing properly, you should not have to increase prices significantly,” Engel said. “Direct marketing allows producers the opportunity to have a consistent price for their products despite price fluctuations in the commodity market. If you are in it for the long term, your returns will be maintained.”
Helpful resources for farm direct meat marketers can be ordered by calling the Alberta Ag-Info Centre at 866-882-7677. For more detailed information on farm retailing, contact Engel at 780-349-4466.
