Suggestions on how to sell beef off the farm.

[Rodjam]

All this talk of direct marketing has me thinking that I need to be doing a better job of selling my beef. I know many of you sell all you can raise without going through the auction marts. I know it is extra work but it has to beat what we are being paid the traditional way. Whats are some things one needs to do to get started?
Thanks

[grassfarmer]

From one who only has limited experience marketing a proportion of my cattle direct. In no particular order.

1 find a product or concept to sell
2 find people wanting to buy your concept/product
3 find a reputable processor (increasingly hard)
4 learn a little about butchers and cut
outs (learning more is better)
5 produce your product/animal to the best of your ability
6 prepare to tackle concepts and problems you have no previous experience of.
7 make sure you charge enough - don't go through all the hassle and then undercharge (this is tough to stick to)
8 give it 2 or 3 years and see how your customers like your product/service.
9 if you are marketing beef direct know how to use or sell your hamburger before you start - don't get left with it.
Good luck!

[farmers_son]

Grassfarmer: Good advice. I have heard others comment that hamburger is hard to sell. But why? Assuming all cuts are priced according to demand all cuts should sell equally. Does the average consumer such as the direct marketer would be dealing with not buy hamburger or what?

Has anyone tried to market prepared dishes, such as frozen meatloaf or prepared patties?

[coppertop]

I may be wrong but I think there are fairly stringent regulations on marketing prepared foods.

[grassfarmer]

farmers_son, I just find it easier to sell beef in bulk, ground included because we have a real simple business model. I am not interested in having a farm shop or approved refrigerated storage to sell cuts individually. We haul cattle to the processing plant, go back three weeks later and pick up and deliver the cuts to the customer and collect the cheques. We are seasonal producers and I want to educate customers about the seasonality of food so we only do it once a year - in October. We did sell ground initially and it got a good reception from customers but we found that by selling ground seperately we got different type of customers - more price orientated (ie cheap)rather than quality orientated. I think people decide to buy top quality product for steaks and roasts but will maybe skimp on ground thinking there won't be much taste, texture etc difference from regular stuff. The customers we have now disprove this as the ground is very often the thing they notice the biggest difference in. Saying that I know other operators sell natural or grassfed beef at around $5/lb. There is big potential in my mind to better educate consumers on the uses of ground - we have made big inroads on that with our customers. I think the existing industry promotion/education on this is lacking. When you start selling into the cities you find there are people who never buy ground - only buy minute steaks etc. Particularly younger people have no idea of the range of things you can do with ground. We now have some that wanted steaks and minimal ground the first year they ordered specifying they want more of their animal turned into ground.
There might be potential to sell patties etc - my wife has a great recipe, but then we would be going up against that heavily subsidised Cargill patty plant in Spruce Grove and why would I want to do that?
Keeping our operation at a "rancher selling beef once a year" basis also keeps us at the level where the "consumer trusts producer" deal works best.

[TopManagers.ca]

This publication by SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education called HOW TO DIRECT MARKET YOUR BEEF, published in 2005 would be a good read. <A HERF="http://www.sare.org/publications/beef/beef.pdf">Click here</A>
This is a pdf file so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

[TopManagers.ca]

This publication by SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education called HOW TO DIRECT MARKET YOUR BEEF, published in 2005 would be a good read. [URL="http://www.sare.org/publications/beef/beef.pdf"]Click here[/URL]
This is a pdf file so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

[joedales]

You may want to visit the North American Farmer's Direct Marketing Association Website - www.NAFDM.com They may have some ideas for you....

Here is a little about them:

North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association is a trade association dedicated to nurturing the farm direct marketing industry. Its actions are driven by those whose daily lives are dedicated to this way of life. Its members support their family farms by selling millions of dollars worth of farm-grown produce directly to consumers at farm stands, farmers’ markets, pick-your-own farms, consumer-supported agriculture, agritourism venues, and other ever-growing innovations in direct producer-to-consumer agricultural marketing methods.

I noticed that the annual conference is in Calgary this year...

Good luck,

Joe