AG 2011 07 18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Cabarrus area, but don't plan to expand their local meat offerings at this time. "The hardest part of dealing with local farmers is the requirements that the USDA and the health inspectors make us meet in order to call the product locally grown and grass fed," says one employee. "The wholesale side of the grass fed craze has yet to catch fire, although personally I believe it will be on every menu in the next few years." Summary There is consumer interest in local meat. Direct sales are thriving, and there is an opportunity to increase them through direct market channels. It would be worthwhile to support food - buying club(s) that offer meat. Restaurants offer a potential market, but heavy promotion and greater volume of consistent quality products will be necessary to address their concerns regarding price. Consumer education is key to promoting sales of local beef. People need to know about the economic and food security benefits of buying local beef. In the case of grass -fed local beef, they need to know why it tastes different and to learn cooking methods that optimize tenderness and flavor. Consumers also need to know where they can purchase local beef and they need more purchasing options that are convenient. Beef farmers will need to provide a larger, more consistent supply of beef in order to access institutional markets, as well as some restaurants, through broad line distributors. More entrepreneurs are needed to focus on scaling supply and addressing critical marketing and processing issues. The Cruse meat processing plant has the potential to be a major asset in bringing processing capacity closer to home but does not take precedence over producer support and education, aggregation of volume and market outreach and development. Recommendations 1. Support existing farmers interested in increasing their access to a variety of market channels, particularly direct channels and existing branded programs that already have market access and processing capacity. Hickory Nut Gap Meats, which currently has access to 25 restaurants, as well as Earth Fare and Whole Foods Market, is one example. 2. Provide future local beef farmers with the information they need to begin a new operation, scale up existing ones and/or transition from cow /calf operations to finishing beef for local markets. 3. Support Cruse Meats facility in becoming a successful operation. One key component will be a traceability system. 4. Invest in a consumer education campaign that highlights the benefits of buying local beef and lets people know where they can purchase it. III. Processing Capacity Food processing is part of food systems infrastructure, and is defined as the physical capacity to get food from farm to market. In our Phase I summary we reported that farmers participating in local food systems need access to infrastructure that is scaled to meet their needs. This summary includes key points taken from interviews with farmers 12 Attachment number 1 1 -1 Page 247