2013 Annual Report for FNE12-738
Beef cooperative
Summary
When we applied for a SARE grant in 2011 it was our mission to form a legal entity for a cooperative of beef producers and to start marketing and selling our beef in New York City. The Adirondack Grazers Cooperative became a legal entity in April 2012, received our EIN number in June 2012 and we starting selling beef wholesale to New York in July 2012. Before that date we formed a Board and had agreed on our Protocols, Marketing Agreement, and Bylaws. We have also created a web site – www.adkgrazers.com – and a Facebook page and have posted short video portraits on our site under Our Farmers and Why Work with our Cooperative. We also created a Business Plan and applied for, and received, a Farm Start loan through Farm Credit East.
Objectives/Performance Targets
We have met the following targets:
• Formed a legal entity
• Set membership fees
• Established a delivery schedule & system
• Created an in depth analysis of costs
• Developed a projected Marketing Plan
• Applied for and received a FARM START loan through Farm Credit East
• Agreed on shared protocols
• Agreed on pricing and markets
• Created a logo and USDA approved labels
• Developed lasting relationships with our USDA-inspected slaughterhouses Eagle Bridge Custom Meats and Over The Hill, Benson, VT
• Created a web site www.adkgrazers.com and Facebook page
• Filmed & edited short farm profiles that are on our Web site
• Established a successful relationship with local food distributor, Regional Access, who deliver our fresh beef and are carrying our Family Packs of frozen beef
• Worked closely with Karp Resources (http://www.karpresources.com/) as our technical advisor to help form long-term marketing strategies and to source new markets and grants.
• Established a growing market for our fresh beef with butchers and restaurants
It was our objective to create a marketing strategy and to sell our cooperative beef wholesale to New York City. We have achieved this and we are now selling our beef to:
Ceriello’s Fine Foods (http://www.ceriellofinefoods.com/)
Heritage Foods (http://www.heritagefoodsusa.com/
The Meat Hook in Brooklyn (http://the-meathook.com/
Dickson’s Farmstand Meats (http://dicksonsfarmstand.com/)
The Meat Market (http://www.themeatmarketgb.com/) in Great Barrington, MA.
We are also selling to restaurants and caterers like:
Hill Country (http://www.hillcountryny.com/)
Amali (http://amalinyc.com/)
Print (http://printrestaurant.com/
Cleaver & Co & The Green Table (http://www.cleaverco.com/).
The goal of the cooperative is to build financially viable farms in the Washington County region and so in order to increase revenue back to the farms we are also developing a market for frozen beef in Family Packs that are being sold direct to customers through local food distributor Regional Access (http://regionalaccess.net) and to restaurants.
Accomplishments/Milestones
One of our major accomplishments is to have formed a tight and cohesive Board that holds monthly meetings, weekly conference calls and conducts educational outreach through newspaper articles, panel discussions, Meat Week NYC, CCE newsletters and farm visits. General Meetings for our farmers were held monthly until the summer and now on a bi-monthly basis. Decisions are made in a timely manner and we are working to adapt to the demands of the market place.
We have developed some good customers and reached a milestone when Ceriello’s posted a banner with our name on it in Grand Central Station. We have also held some successful beef cutting demonstrations with our butchers and Meet The Farmer events. Our beef was the main feature of Meat Week NYC (http://meatweeknyc.com/) this year and our beef was served at a major Benefit for the Rockaways following Hurricane Sandy. Sarah Teale also appeared on a panel about local meat distribution organized by Food Systems NYC (http://foodsystemsnyc.org/tags/meat-week-nyc)
We have also developed good relationships with our slaughterhouses at Eagle Bridge Custom Meats in Eagle Bridge, New York and Over The Hill in Benson, Vermont. Eagle Bridge have been working closely with us to develop and pack our Family Packs of frozen beef for distribution through Regional Access, who featured our beef on their web site this October, 2012 (see www.regionalaccess.net dated october 18, 2012).
It was our objective to create a marketing strategy and to sell our cooperative beef wholesale to New York City. We have achieved this and we are now selling our beef to:
Ceriello’s Fine Foods (http://www.ceriellofinefoods.com/)
Heritage Foods (http://www.heritagefoodsusa.com/
The Meat Hook in Brooklyn (http://the-meathook.com/
Dickson’s Farmstand Meats (http://dicksonsfarmstand.com/)
The Meat Market (http://www.themeatmarketgb.com/) in Great Barrington, MA.
We are also selling to restaurants and caterers like:
Hill Country (http://www.hillcountryny.com/)
Amali (http://amalinyc.com/)
Print (http://printrestaurant.com/
Cleaver & Co & The Green Table (http://www.cleaverco.com/).
We are also developing a market for frozen beef in Family Packs that are being sold direct to customers through local food distributor Regional Access (http://regionalaccess.net) and to restaurants
Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes
Our greatest outcome is that we have been able to return considerably more per lb to the farmer than if they had taken their beef to auction or sold them through other options. As a result we have increased our membership and our farmers have started to increase their herds in order to sell through the co-op. Thanks in part to Farm Start and Farm Credit East we have also met our commitment to pay our farmers within 30 days of slaughter.
On a regular basis a questionnaire and survey is sent out to all members in order to evaluate the size and capabilities of each farm, the farming practices and the number of steers that they anticipate being able to supply to the co-op.
As a result we have established a detailed spreadsheet that includes information of herd size, birth dates, numbers of cattle, farming methods, breed and veterinary records. In this way we are able to track our inventory, anticipate our needs and show growth, which we will continue to do.
We have heard from a number of farmers that they have increased their beef herds, or started one, as a result of the co-op. We intend to greatly increase our sales in 2013 and our outreach to additional farmers.
An additional outcome has been as a result of the farm videos on our web site – www.adkgrazers.com – there has been increased marketing attention for our individual farmers and a general awareness of how important marketing, and the new social media, can be.
Collaborators:
Cornell Cooperative Extension
415 Lower Main Street
Hudson Falls, NY 12839
Office Phone: 5187462560
Website: www.adkgrazers.com