Direct Marketing Meat from Your FarmNorthern Kentucky Freezer Beef Program

Dr. Gregg Rentfrow, Ph.D.Extension Professor – Meat Science

University of Kentucky

Let’s take Dr. VanValin’s finished animal to the next step

First things First

• You will hear the same information repeated from one speaker to the next

• This means that it is important

• What are your goals?• Extra income• Farm promotion• The next Laura Freeman (Laura’s

Lean)

• Insurance?

Legal Stuff

• 1906 Federal Meat Inspection Act

• Mandates that all meat intended for interstate commerce must be inspected

• No Exceptions!• In reality you want the

product/process to be inspected

Meat Inspection• Two types of meat inspection

• Federal• State

• Federal – can be sold in all 50 states

• State – must be equal to or better than federal, but can only be sold within said state

• Kentucky does not have a state inspection service

• Ohio & Indiana does, but Ohio & Indiana inspected product cannot be sold outside the said state

Meat Inspection• Make sure all areas are inspected• Kill floor

• Beef, Pork, Lamb Slaughter• Cutting Room

• Raw not ground (cutting up the carcass into retail cuts)• Ground

• Raw ground (Hamburger, fresh sausages) • Processed Meats

• Fully cooked not shelf stable (Summer sausage, smoked sausage, City Ham, etc)

• Heat treated not shelf stable (Bacon, Country style Sausage) • Fully cooked shelf stable (Summer Sausage)

Meat Inspection – FYI stuff

• Pre and Postmortem inspection• Humane Handling

• Once trailer is on the property, the facility is responsible

• Only healthy animals can enter the food chain

• Lymph nodes, liver, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys

• Sanitation • Facilities, personnel, carcass

• Downer cattle cannot enter the food chain

• Inspection legend goes on all packages

Next step

Production system?• Grain-finished• Grain on Grass/Hybrid • Forage-finished• Natural

• Legal definition; nothing similar with the popular definition

• No antibiotics or growth hormones given

• Organic• Strict guidelines from the USDA

• Should always be local!• Tell your story, that’s what they want

How am I going to sell my beef?

• Freezer Beef• ¼’s, ½’s, whole carcass• Freezer space• Beef Shares

• Farmer’s Market/Roadside Stand/Off the Farm (health dept.)

• A lot of work• Individual retail cuts• Bundles; $25, $50, $100

How am I going to sell my beef?• Internet Sales

• Retail cuts/Bundles• Website/Social Media• Approved Labels• Very Challenging

• Restaurants• Want the Middle Meats; ribeye, strips, T-bones,

filets• Left with end cuts• Challenge to supply weekly• Very, Very Challenging• Maybe a feature

• Grocery Store(s)• USDA Inspected and GFSI Certified• Extremely Challenging• Almost Impossible for one farm• Approved Labels

Don’t come to me with problems or difficulties; come to me with Challenges!

-Coach Nick Mingione--UK Head Baseball Coach-

Picking a Meat Processor; don’t be intimidated!

Picking/working with a meat processor

• USDA Inspected• Location is always important• Schedule a meeting with the

processor • Discuss what you want to do• How many animals/wk/month,

etc• Be transparent• Can I work with this

person/company?

Things to think about or consider

• What does the parking lot and facilities look like?

• What does the inside look like?• Does the staff appear to be

friendly?• Smell?• What do the retail cuts look

like? If they have a retail case

What do we do when things go wrong?

• There will always be a challenge in every relationship

• Married people understand• This will happen with your meat

processor, what do you do?• Communication• Communication • Communication with a discussion of

going to another processor• Last thing you want to do is switch

processors• Starting all over

• Don’t want to throw money away!

Talking to your Processor; speaking their language

Speaking his language

• Don’t be intimidated • He’s speaking English but I don’t

understand him• Ask questions• It is as much your responsibility

as it is his to make sure everyone understands

• Here’s some survival meat processor language

Survival Meat Processor-ese

• “He dressed…”• Dressing Percentage – the

percentage difference between live wt and hot carcass wt.

• 60 to 63ish%• 55 to 60ish% for forage finished

• Effected by:• Gut fill, hide contamination,

horns, wet udders, etc• Lose 100lbs over night if kept off

feed

Survival Meat Processor-ese

• “He shrank…”• Live weight loss• Carcass Shrink

• 3 to 5% in the first 24hrs

• “He yielded…”• Cutting loss – how much had to

be trimmed or general loss through normal processing

• Sometimes these terms can be interchangeable

Survival Meat Processor-ese

• “How do you want it cut?”• Most have a cut sheet• Contact KCA for picture sheets• Special cuts will have to be

negotiated

• “How thick?”• Thickness of steaks and roast• At least 1” thick for steaks

• Protection from overcooking

Survival Meat Processor-ese

• Other things• Aging

• Longer the carcasses are aged the more tender

• Law of diminishing returns

• Packaging• Vacuum package

• Lasts longer in freezer• The last steak out of the freezer

needs to taste like the first

The ULTIMATE QUESTION!

• That *&%$! is stealing my beef!• 1200 LWT• 60% Dress• 720 HCWT• 4% Shrink • 690ish CCWT• All boneless 20%• Take home around 360ish lbs

• Around 30 to 35% of the live weight

Pricing? How much to charge?

• Dr. Burdine is going to discuss this in detail

• Difference between profit and cash flow

• But things to think about before he talks

• Production costs• Processing costs• Breakeven cost• Account for your labor• Business model

Things to discuss with your customers

• Freezer Beef• Selling live animal weight• Selling carcass weight• Need to communicate the

aforementioned breakdown• Dry vs Wet Ageing

• Very different flavor• Forage-finished

• Very different flavor• Freezer space

• 30 to 40 lbs per cubic feet

Labels

• We are attracted to labels• Generic Labels

• Farm, cut, weight, price/lb, total price, date, inspection legend, safe handling instructions

• All claims have to be approved• No hormones/no hormones given• Low fat, calorie, high protein, etc• Healthy?

• Label expeditor

Conclusions

• Do your homework• This can be a lot of work• Realistic goals• Understand that some of this

may have to wait for the pandemic

• We are trying to expand processing in the state

• Having some success • Ask questions