Beef cooperative - Part 2

Beef cooperative - Part 2

Summary

The Adirondack Grazers Cooperative isa group of beef producers from small to mid-size family farms in New York who naturally raise and finish beef. The co-op was formed in June 2012, thanks to an initial SARE grant. The goal of the cooperative is to build financially viable farms in New York State by selling grass fed beef to markets in New York City in order to increase revenue back to the farms.  

After initial success in selling fresh beef to butchers and restaurants in New York City, the goal of the second 2013 SARE grant was to increase fresh beef sales in New York and to expand those sales to other cities. We also aimed to develop a market for frozen beef to be marketed direct to customers, through local food distributor Regional Access and to restaurants. In addition, we wanted to increase the number of film portraits of the farmers on our web site and to develop a longer documentary on the formation of the co-op.

Some recent measurements of success are:

Increased our farm membership from 13 to 27 farms with 75 additional farms expressing interest

      Expanded our members farms from Washington County to Otsego, Rennselaer, Dutches, Delaware, Shenego, Tioga, Greene and Columbia Counties

      Herd size of cooperative increased from 652 head of cattle in 2012 and is estimated to be over 2,000 in 2013

Objectives/Performance Targets

We have continued to work with the Cornell Cooperative Extension to get the word out to farmers in their newsletter and regular e-mail bulletins, and in holding monthly meetings and workshops at the CCE offices. These meetings are open to members, potential members, as well as to anyone who has an interest in grass fed beef farming, meat and marketing. We have also expanded to work closely with the Otsego County CCE officers, who support our new farm members in the Finger Lakes Region.

We have also increased our full membership in the co-op from thirteen (13) farms to twenty-seven (27). The number of non-members farms who attend meetings and hope to join has increased from thirty seven (37) farms to seventy five (75).

We have continued to build our list of interested farmers and have hired a Membership Coordinator to visit farms to go over Protocols, check that farmers are compliant with those Protocols, take inventory and herd and pasture size and to talk about the benefit of joining the cooperative.

As a result of our work we have had requests from other CCE groups to speak on panels and we will continue to do that, as well as attending and participating in conferences, including UVM’s 18th Annual Vermont Grazing & Livestock Conference; NOFA-NY Winter Conference; CCE’s Winter Green Up Grass Fed Grazing Conference and the NYS Beef Association Annual Winter Conference in January 2104.

Sarah Teale has also been meeting with butchers, markets, distributors and restaurants in New York City and Lisa Randles has been meeting with similar customers in Saratoga, Albany and small towns across New York State. We have built a comprehensive web site (www.adkgrazers.com), a logo, a Facebook page and a new brochure that customers can refer to.

We have been filming farmer’s portraits since the summer of 2012 and have continued to film every week since then throughout 2013. These portraits are posted on our web site for customers to see exactly where their beef came from and how it was raised. Sarah Teale, an Emmy nominated filmmaker, has teamed up with Lisa Jackson, who is also an Emmy award winning documentary maker, to produce these portraits and together they are also producing a feature length documentary on the cooperative and its members. They recently received a NYSCA grant ($18,200) to complete the editing process.

The Grazers have also been fortunate to receive grants and support from the Woodshouse Foundation ($25,000), the New York Farm Viability Institute ($75,000) and Honest Weight, a cooperative market in Albany that are mandated to financially support other cooperatives ($25,000). Our accounts are managed by Farm Credit East, that extended a line of credit to the co-op ($50,000).

Accomplishments/Milestones

We are proud to have:

•       Increased our farm membership from 13 to 27 farms with 75 additional farms expressing interest
•       Expanded our members farms from Washington County to Otsego, Rennselaer, Dutches, Delaware, Shenego, Tioga, Greene and Columbia Counties

•       Increased Payments to farmers for their steers from $45,829 (all of 2012) to $97,170 (Ist half of 2013) to $283,528.45 by the end of the year on total sales of $328,857 (see attached financial spreadsheet)

•       Pasture acreage involved increased from 1,850 acres in 2012 to an estimated 5,000 acres in 2013

•       Herd size of cooperative increased from 652 head of cattle in 2012 and is estimated to be over 2,000 in 2013

•       Created a value-added market for frozen beef in small, local markets like Putnam Market in Saratoga; Bedlam Corners in West Hebron; Walkers in Fort Ann; the Cambridge Coop and Machs in Pawlet, VT.

•       Formed a partnership with Great Performances and will start working through their 700 member CSA in Spring 2014

•       Increased sales of frozen beef through the on line markets of Farmer’s Web, Good Eggs and Plovgh and through Regional Access

•       Formed a Partnership with Fresh Direct, the large New York City on-line market, who currently take 6-12 cattle per week through New York Custom Processors in Bridgewater, NY

•       Established a relationship with Main Street Wholesale Meats in Farmingdale, NY to sell fresh, custom cuts

•       Established regular customers in Albany (Honest Weight) and Saratoga (Healthy Living)

•       Increased slaughter slots at Eagle Bridge Custom Meats from 2-4 per week

•       Increased advertising through the Times Union, Uptown Downtown Media, Post Star, Eco-Local, Spectrum Theatre and Saratoga.com

•       Hired a Coordinator and Membership Coordinator (driver) with plans to hire additional Sales staff in New York City in January 2014 and a second, local Coordinator

•       Put a deposit on an office in Cambridge, NY to allow the Staff to work together in one place. We have a grant to house a large, walk-in freezer at that location and to install computers and the Internet.

•       Built and maintained a comprehensive web site (www.adkgrazers.com) a logo, a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/adkgrazers), new brochures and business cards. (see attached new brochure)

•       Filmed farmers and co-op meetings throughout 2013 and will complete editing in 2014 with assistance from a NYSCA grant ($18,200)

•       Received grant support from Woodshouse Foundation ($25,000), the New York Farm Viability Institute ($75,000) and Honest Weight, a cooperative market in Albany that are mandated to financially support other cooperatives ($25,000).

•       Continued our relationship with Farm Credit East, who extended a line of credit to the co-op ($50,000).

 It remains to complete a full Live Animal Inventory spreadsheet with all new members accounted for. We also created a Marketing Plan but it has to be completed and sales and events have overtaken it. We have laid the groundwork for a greater increase in the sale of frozen beef cuts but have yet to see a large financial benefit.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The main measure of our results so far has been in increased sales and we have attached our Financial Spreadsheet for 2013 with projected sales into early 2014.

We have also increased Membership and have attached a full list of member farms.

Since the growth in membership has been relatively recent we are still working on a full Live Animal Inventory which we will submit with the final report, as well as accurate figures for increased herd size and pasture acreage.

 The main effect of our increased income has been to hire additional staff. We have increased the hours of our Coordinator (Lisa Randles), hired a Membership Coordinator (Ashley Bridge) and intend to hire additional Sales staff in New York (Cecilia Estreich) in January 2014. We are also actively seeking additional local staff and have put a deposit on an office in Cambridge, NY.

We have also seen a marked increase in income to the farms which has led farmers to increase their herds and pastures. We have also attracted new members across the state.

• new brochure
• Farm Members List
• Financial Spreadsheet

Collaborators: