| | A provincial specialist offers advice on pricing, processing and more.
If you’ve ever visited the meat case of a major supermarket chain, you know the experience can be bittersweet.
On one hand, you’ll be impressed by the high quality and abundant quantity of Alberta-grown meats. On the other, you’ll likely reflect on just how much, or how little, of the retail price actually ends up in a producer’s pocket.
In Bert Dening’s view, that’s the bottom-line rationale for producers who want to market their beef, pork, chicken, lamb, bison, deer and other products directly to consumers.
“With meat, like any commodity, there are lots of hands between the producer and the consumer,” says Dening, Business Development Officer with Alberta Agriculture and Food in Barrhead. “Farmers see a benefit to eliminating the middlemen and keeping more of the revenue for themselves.”
Even though it’s easy to grasp the benefits of direct marketing, relatively few producers market this way. That might be because direct marketing, while straightforward in concept, is complex in its execution.
To encourage more producers to consider direct marketing, Alberta Agriculture and Food has posted a fact sheet on the Ropin’ the Web site. Start at www.agric.gov.ab.ca and search on DIRECT MARKETING MEAT. In summary, here are quick answers to direct marketing questions producers often ask.
How do I ensure food safety? “Any meat products sold in the province of Alberta must be inspected at an approved abattoir,” says Dening. There are between 50 and 60 such facilities in the province. A listing is available on the website of the Alberta Food Processors Association, www.afpa.com.
How do I choose a processor? Dening recommends that producers develop a short-list of suitable facilities in their trading area. From there, visit or telephone and ask questions about their policies on pricing, cutting, wrapping, disposal of by-products and options for less-desirable cuts. “In some cases, you may be able to make sausage, jerky or pepperoni from the less saleable cuts,” says Dening, “but that's a different proposition with a different business plan.”
To expand options available to producers, Alberta Agriculture and Food and Olds College are working together on developing a multi-location abattoir. This self-contained, professionally equipped facility is designed to bring inspection and animal slaughter to the farm gate. Producers will still need either their own processing facilities or arrange to have someone else further process the meat before sale. The unit will hit the road this spring for a season of testing and refinement, with emphasis on the unit’s ability to reduce animal stress and thus improve meat quality.
How much should I charge? Dening sees most direct-marketers going in one of two directions. Some know their cost of production down to the penny and can price their product to achieve the margin they want. Others price the product comparably with a similar product they’ve seen in a farmer’s market or other retail outlet. Either way, Dening offers a rule of thumb.
“If people aren’t complaining about the price being too high, then you probably have set the price too low,” he says. “You need to get away from the idea that you will sell to everybody, because some people won't see the value. But others will.”
For more information on direct marketing of meat products, or to arrange a visit from the multi-location abattoir, please contact Bert Dening at (780) 674-8247 or by email to bert.dening@gov.ab.ca. |
|