Checkoff Holds ‘Meat Your Beef’ Farm Tour In Maryland

The beef checkoff, through a partnership between the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative and the South Dakota Beef Industry Council, hosted a “Meat Your Beef” for the 21 retail and foodservice influencers that attended this immersion event at Hedgeapple Farms in Buckeystown, Md., on May 7.

With the majority of attendees having little to no understanding of beef production, the tour of the Hedgeapple Farms provided them with a unique opportunity to see a modern-day working beef farm literally from pasture to plate. All the calves born on the farm are retained for pasture-finishing and are direct marketed through the on-farm retail market.

The legacy of Hedgeapple Farm dates to 1731. Since 1956, the Jorgensen family has operated a dairy farm and a beef farm on the property. In 1997, the Jorgensen’s gifted a conservation easement to the Maryland Environmental Trust in perpetuity to ensure against development. Today, Hedgeapple Farm operation encompasses 595 acres of owned and rented land and is located just north of the historic village of Buckeystown, Md. All the acreage is in permanent grassland and is utilized as pasture and hay for the farm’s herd of Black Angus cattle.

The morning of the event started with a wagon ride farm tour of the Hedgeapple Farms pastures, cattle handling facility and cattle herd. A picnic lunch of grilled Hedgeapple hamburgers, co-sponsored by Hedgeapple Farms and Streetmarc Advertising, Marketing and Promotions followed the morning tour.

After lunch, attendees had the opportunity to openly ask questions relating to beef production and the cattle industry to a panel of cattle industry experts. Paul Slayton, former Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Beef Council and owner of Slayton’s BearDance Farm in Bedford, Pa., served as the panel moderator. Panelists included Dr. Scot Barao, Executive Director of the Jorgensen Family Foundation and Maryland Beef Council, Dr. Elizabeth Santini, Veterinary Medical Field Office with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Dennis Bryne, manager of Herr Angus Farm in Nottingham, Pa., and Craig Beiber of Bieber Red Angus Ranch in Leola, S.D.

Chef Greg Wentz, Culinary Instructor and Coordinator for Howard Community College (HCC), Columbia, Md., commented following the event, “The importance between the beef industry and culinary influencers are paramount in today’s information rich society.  Future buyers, chefs and culinarians must have accurate information to buy and price accordingly in order to better serve their growing population.

“The students at HCC were allowed a perfect opportunity to meet a wonderful panel of these industry experts. The panel reinforced exactly what the beef industry involves and showed the students how sustainable farming works. Additionally, many false rumors were addressed to educate our students about animal health. It was a great experience for the students to learn more about their food sources.”

Misti Burmeister, award-winning author and businesswoman from the Baltimore, Md., area stated after the farm tour, “I loved learning about the various perspectives of grass verses grain as well as by-products fed to cattle; they graciously answered all my questions!  I also enjoyed learning about the various industries that are affected by the beef industry and meeting several of those business owners. The learning experience was well worth the trip!”

Kari Underly, Founder and Principal of Range Inc., and author of the James Beard nominated “Art of Beef Cutting” concluded the event with a beef cutting demonstration to highlight the added value of merchandising the beef chuck roll into the value-added Sierra Cut, Denver Cut and Country-Style Boneless Ribs. Underly also demonstrated the variety and versatility of alternatively merchandising the beef top sirloin and ribeye into small, leaner portions leading to more meat case and menu options.

For more information about the beef checkoff’s “Meat Your Beef” event contact Christie Brown cbrown@pabeef.org or visit the NEBPI’s “Northeast Loves Beef” Facebook page for photos and more event details.

For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.

Source: The Beef Checkoff Program