Registration is now closed for Marketing Local Meat. We have over 100 participants! Looking forward to learning and networking together. We will accept a few walk-ins the day of the event. $50 at the Door!

Sessions at a Glance here.

Marketing Local Meat: a hands-on intensive for meat producers

This full-day marketing workshop for local meat producers focuses on how to achieve profitable outcomes through targeted marketing strategies. This intensive will include tastings, recipe fundamentals, strategies to close a sale, and ways to target your ideal buyers so that you can sell more meat. Plus:

• Gain knowledge to determine market channels that meet your price point using a newly revised calculator tool developed by our partners at Cornell Cooperative Extension.
• Learn three easy ways to sell any cut on the animal by knowing where cuts are located and their corresponding cooking techniques for beef, pork, and lamb.
• Engage and respond to customer requests for cooking tips and help move those hard-to-sell cuts.
• Hear from NC farmers who are finding ways to target their niche market.

Date: Thursday, August 23, 2018

Time: 8am-5pm

Location: Forsyth County Agricultural Building, 1450 Fairchild Rd. Winston-Salem, NC 27105 Winston-Salem, NC

Cost: $35 general public| $50 @ the door | NC Cooperative Extension Employees FREE | Light breakfast + Lunch included

Get Social: Follow us on FB, Instagram, and Twitter for details on speakers and sessions | #pastureraised #localmeat #meatmarketing

Checks: Please make checks payable to “NC State University” and leave memo line blank. Mail check and copy of registration form to: Center for Environmental Farming Systems, Attn. Mia Murphy, Box 7609-NCSU, Raleigh, NC 27695

MORNING ADDRESS

Edwin Shank of The Family Cow and Your Family Farmer | Chambersburg, PA

Edwin Shank is a farmer, teacher, writer and founder of The Family Cow, a certified organic, pasture-based farm in Chambersburg PA. Pictured here with his Great Pyrenees, Nikki and Tasha, Edwin and his dedicated Family Cow Team specialize in growing raw milk, pastured chicken and turkeys, grass-fed beef, woodland pork and other ‘healing foods’ for 50 plus rapidly-growing drop point tribes throughout PA. Edwin and his family also run an on-farm store plus market via UPS shipping to 30 eastern states.

INSTRUCTORS

Steven Goff– Chef-Owner, AUX bar | Asheville, NC

Matt LeRoux – Marketing Specialist, Cornell Cooperative Extension | Ithaca, NY

Lee Menius – Owner, Carolina Craft Butchery & Wild Turkey Farms | Rowan County, NC

Noah Ranells – Owner, Fickle Creek Farm | Orange County, NC

Share this flyer widely |  Please direct any questions to sheila@ncchoices.com

Brought to you by NC Choices, Forsyth County Extension, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, and NC Growing Together, with support provided by the Golden Leaf Foundation.

Position Announcement: Poultry Plant Manager

The ISAMPA Board is working to reopen the poultry plant in Marion, NC to serve independent poultry producers in the region. Foothills Processing is actively seeking a manager to coordinate the resumption of operations and is accepting applications for the position. The following are a sample of the job tasks and functions:

• Supervise and manage the reopening of the plant and communicate with stakeholders
• Restore equipment to functioning state
• Repair any leaks in water system
• Restore water service
• Trial poultry processing line
• Update USDA inspection registration
• Staff plant sufficient to resume operations

Desirable qualities include: good communicator, effective manager, construction expertise, self-starter and strong initiative, financially savvy and creative problem-solver. This person would report to the leadership of Foothills Processing, LLC, the new company managing the plant. This is a contract position with opportunity for membership. Candidates should email resume, letter of interest and hourly contract rate to foothillsprocessing@gmail.com. No calls, please.

Thanks,

ISAMPA and Foothills Processing, LLC

Register Here:  https://bit.ly/2tlXeKR 

Marketing Local Meat: a hands-on intensive for meat producers

This full-day marketing workshop for local meat producers focuses on how to achieve profitable outcomes through targeted marketing strategies. This intensive will include tastings, recipe fundamentals, strategies to close a sale, and ways to target your ideal buyers so that you can sell more meat. Plus:

• Gain knowledge to determine market channels that meet your price point using a newly revised calculator tool developed by our partners at Cornell Cooperative Extension.
• Learn three easy ways to sell any cut on the animal by knowing where cuts are located and their corresponding cooking techniques for beef, pork, and lamb.
• Engage and respond to customer requests for cooking tips and help move those hard-to-sell cuts.
• Hear from NC farmers who are finding ways to target their niche market.

Date: Thursday, August 23, 2018

Time: 8am-5pm

Location: Forsyth County Agricultural Building, 1450 Fairchild Rd. Winston-Salem, NC 27105 Winston-Salem, NC

Cost: $35 general public| NC Cooperative Extension Employees FREE | Light breakfast + Lunch included

Register:  https://bit.ly/2tlXeKR  | Register by August 16, 2018!

Get Social: Follow us on FB, Instagram, and Twitter for details on speakers and sessions | #pastureraised #localmeat #meatmarketing

Credit Cards: CEFS can now accept credit cards for your registration fees. Instructions for paying with credit cards are found at the end of the registration form.

Checks: Please make checks payable to “NC State University” and leave memo line blank. Mail check and copy of registration form to: Center for Environmental Farming Systems, Attn. Mia Murphy, Box 7609-NCSU, Raleigh, NC 27695

MORNING ADDRESS

Edwin Shank of The Family Cow and Your Family Farmer | Chambersburg, PA

Edwin Shank is a farmer, teacher, writer and founder of The Family Cow, a certified organic, pasture-based farm in Chambersburg PA. Pictured here with his Great Pyrenees, Nikki and Tasha, Edwin and his dedicated Family Cow Team specialize in growing raw milk, pastured chicken and turkeys, grass-fed beef, woodland pork and other ‘healing foods’ for 50 plus rapidly-growing drop point tribes throughout PA. Edwin and his family also run an on-farm store plus market via UPS shipping to 30 eastern states.

INSTRUCTORS

Steven Goff– Chef-Owner, AUX bar | Asheville, NC

Matt LeRoux – Marketing Specialist, Cornell Cooperative Extension | Ithaca, NY

Lee Menius – Owner, Carolina Craft Butchery & Wild Turkey Farms | Rowan County, NC

Noah Ranells – Owner, Fickle Creek Farm | Orange County, NC

Share this flyer widely |  Please direct any questions to sheila@ncchoices.com

Brought to you by NC Choices, Forsyth County Extension, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, and NC Growing Together, with support provided by the Golden Leaf Foundation.

Small Scale Poultry Grower Regional Seminar: Producing Safe, Healthy Poultry Meat, Farm to Table

Thursday, May 24, 2018 | 8-4pm

NC Cooperative Extension

Franklin County Center, Annex | 103 S Bickett Blvd, Louisburg, NC 27549

***From breed selection to keeping a healthy flock, production and marketing tips to hands-on poultry processing, this full day seminar is packed with current information about producing poultry in NC. Click on link below for flyer with Registration Information. Presented by NC Cooperative Extension, The Livestock Conservancy, and Tar River Poultry Initiative.

Small Scale Poultry Grower Seminar 2018_5.24.2018

USDA Moves to Withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Rule: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has announced the decision to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule, otherwise known as “the animal welfare rule”, published on January 19, 2017. The rule would have increased federal regulation of livestock and poultry for certified organic producers and handlers. The withdrawal date has been extended to May 14, 2018 under separate actions and can be viewed here.

What does this mean for the Organic label?  Since spring 2016, the National Organic Program and stakeholders began developing and eventually published the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP).  The OLPP final rule, set to take place this year, amended the organic livestock and poultry production requirements in the USDA organic regulations by adding new provisions outlining specific best practices related to livestock handling and transport for slaughter and avian living conditions; and expanded and clarified existing requirements covering livestock care and production practices and mammalian living conditions. Withdrawal from the rule means USDA will not be required to implement the specific animal handling, transport, and management standards outlined in the OLPP rule under the Organic label.  The current Organic label does not detail animal management beyond what was previously outlined in the National Organic Program which stated animals should be allowed “to exhibit natural behaviors” and be provided with “access to the outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, clean water for drinking, and sunlight.”

For more information on the OLPP final rule is available in the March 12, 2018, Federal Register. Contact: Paul Lewis, Ph.D., Director of Standards Division, Telephone: (202) 720-3252; Fax: (202) 260-9151

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association has been monitoring policy updates that can be found on their website https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/organicanimalwelfare/

Supporting Documents: Final Rule
View the Historical Documents for this rule

This article originally appeared in the Winston-Salem Journal.  Read the original version here.

By Michael Hastings

The NC Choices Carolina Meat Conference is holding its annual conference downtown at the Millennium Center. The conference draws about 300 farmers, meat processors, chefs and others interested in meat production in North Carolina.

The conference is organized as part of NC Choices, an initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems. The Center for Environmental Farming Systems is a partnership of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and North Carolina State University.

The NC Choices initiative is designed to promote sustainable food systems throughout the state. It assists farmers and others with educational programs, networking and technical assistance.

The conference, which began Monday and concludes Tuesday afternoon, offers a variety of seminars and workshops. More than 40 speakers and 20 sessions have been covering such topics as pasture-raising of livestock, pork butchery, dry curing, marketing, and tax and business strategies.

The conference in particular focuses on humane treatment of animals, sustainable livestock and farming practices, and efforts to engage consumers who are interested in locally, sustainably raised meat.

Keynote speaker Urvashi Rangan spoke Monday night about the efforts to produce meaningful food labels for sustainably grown products. “There are super-high numbers” in surveys that show consumer support for local farm food, pesticide- and chemical-free food, and environmentally friendly practices, said Rangan, an advisor on food-safety issues and a member of the FDA Food Advisory Committee. “People want these kinds of foods and they are willing to pay more for them.”

Food labels, though, need improvement to help consumers navigate through the many layers of sustainable practices. Some, such as “natural,” are virtually meaningless in their present uses and can be even misleading.

But some new labels, such as the private Regenerative Organic Certified, which is said to go beyond Certified Organic, show promise.

A 2013 survey by NC Choices put sales of local meat in North Carolina at $20 million a year. The survey also found that more than 90 percent of N.C. meat farmers planned to maintain or expand their businesses.

“In 2011 when the Carolina Meat Conference first started, we weren’t sure if the concept of spending more money for pastured meat, eating it less often, and using the whole animal was ever going to turn into a national trend,” said Sarah Blacklin, the director of NC Choices. “Now, groups like the Chef’s Collaborative’s Meat Matters Conference, the New England Meat Conference, Lamb Stock, and dozens of local meat businesses and online bulk buying programs from the East Coast to the West Coast are taking off. It’s a really good sign of the growing interest from chefs, consumers and farmers eager to support an alternative market for local pastured meats that prioritizes animal welfare. However, we still have a lot of problem-solving to do, which is why we are all coming together for conferences like this to address some of the successes and the challenges head on.”

The conference drew a variety of people, including local chefs John Bobby of Rooster’s: A Noble Grille and Jeff Bacon of Providence Restaurant and Catering. During a networking hour Monday, Buxton Hall, a barbecue restaurant in Asheville, served chicken bog with pork hash and pickled okra. Wild Turkey Farms of China Grove served with smoked beef with sriracha mayonnaise. Foothills Meats of Asheville brought mortadella and a variety of other cured meats. Left Bank Butchery of Saxapahaw served homemade liverwurst.

Attendees included Bob Shipley, who along with his son, is keeping his family’s 1872 farm alive in Vilas by raising pastured beef. “This conference has a good balance of academic research and actual production issues,” he said.

Also in attendance was Andrew Long, chef at Over Yonder in Valle Crucis. “Last time I was here I learned a lot about lesser-utilized cuts – meats that people might like if they tried them,” he said. “I want to learn more of that kind of thing.”

And some attendees came from other states, too. Sep Harvin runs Williamsburg Packing Co. in Kingstree, S.C., a meat processor that caters to small farmers who practice sustainable agriculture. “North Carolina has one of the best sustainable programs out there,” he said.

Join us for the 5th Carolina Meat Conference – the largest gathering of pastured meat-makers in the country!  Farmers, chefs, butchers, and industry leaders convene for two days of unparalleled networking, hands-on training, and technical and business assistance.

Attendees can expect more than twenty innovative class sessions on diverse topics, butchery demos, special technical tracks for professionals, and many opportunities for social networking.  NC Choices welcomes keynote speaker, Dr. Loren Cordain, Ph.D, Founder of the Paleo Diet Movement and Author of The New York Times bestseller, The Paleo Diet.

This conference supports a growing community committed to advancing market opportunities and increasing customer access to pasture-based meats. Plus for the first time, NC Choices is offering a one day Niche Meat Pre-Conference for Cooperative Extension Agents!

For more information and to register, please visit the Carolina Meat Conference website: http://www.carolinameatconference.com/2017

Register now for the 2017 Carolina Meat Conference!

Farmers, chefs, butchers, and industry leaders come together for two days of networking, hands-on training, and technical and business assistance. This conference supports a growing community committed to advancing market opportunities and increasing customer access to pasture-based meats.  

Attendees can expect more than twenty innovative class sessions on diverse topics, butchery demos, special technical tracks for professionals, and many opportunities for social networking.  Plus, NC Choices welcomes keynote speaker, Dr. Loren Cordain, Ph.D, Founder of the Paleo Diet Movement and Author of The New York Times bestseller, The Paleo Diet.

#pastureraised #cmc2017

For Conference Details, including Scholarship Opportunities, and Registration Info, visit http://www.carolinameatconference.com/2017/

Extension Agents, for the first time NC Choices is offering a one day Pre-Conference Niche Meat Training for NC Cooperative Extension agents, September 24, 2017 at Forsyth County Cooperative Extension. For Pre-Conference details, visit http://www.carolinameatconference.com/2017-preconference

For Extension Agents who plan to attend the Pre-Conference Niche Meat Training  and/or Carolina Meat Conference, please fill out this scholarship form. This will also count as your registration.

Questions? See http://www.carolinameatconference.com/2017-contact

THANK YOU to our sponsors for their generous program support!

The NC Choices Carolina Meat Conference is hosted by and fundraising activities operate under the auspices of the north Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax ID 56-6049304.