Firsthand Foods

Just back from an invigorating trip to Concord, NH to attend the New England Meat Conference where it snowed 10 inches the day before we arrived! What a great event — with many similarities to our very own Carolina Meat Conference. Jennifer was invited to speak on a panel “ Multi-Producer Meat Brands: Opportunities in Collaboration,” along with representatives from Pineland Farms Natural Meats and Northeast Family Farms, two businesses aggregating beef from multiple producers and selling into larger-scale markets. Throughout the two-day conference, we caught up with good friends from NC Choices, Niche Meat Processors Assistance Network, Lorentz Meats, and Range, Inc.. And we learned all about plans at Black River Produce (a veteran meat and produce food hub) to venture into the world of meat processing. Prior to the conference we were able to tour the Mad River Food Hub, a start-up company providing distribution, storage and meat processing services for small-scale farmers. And we visited North Country Smokehouse, a modest looking specialty meats enterprise that boasts $14M in sales annually. We’re grateful for funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support the trip. Businesses like ours, in the early stages of development, benefit so much from interacting with our counterparts in other areas of the country. It helps to see our efforts in a larger context and to realize that, regardless of geography, we share many of the same challenges and opportunities.

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Farmhand Foods welcomed in the New Year by sitting down with the staff of one of our most valued customers — Bon Appetit Management Company (BAMCO). BAMCO is a nationwide onsite restaurant company that provides cafe and catering services to corporations, colleges and universities with over 400 locations in 32 states. BAMCO specializes in sourcing local, seasonal foods and has established a goal for 2015 that includes purchasing 25 percent of its proteins from sustainable sources. Farmhand Foods’ is proud to be an approved “Farm to Fork” vendor with BAMCO and to sell pasture-raised pork to its two major North Carolina accounts — Duke University and SAS. (pictured: Andre Bruinton and Michelle Boyle, Duke Dining)

Michelle Boyle, head Sous Chef at Duke’s East Campus, joined the BAMCO team just three weeks ago and remarks, “I’ve worked in campus-based food service for 20 years and am thrilled to now be able to focus on sourcing the freshest, best available ingredients while at the same time supporting local farmers.” In 2012, Duke’s East and West campuses combined purchased close to 12,000 pounds of pasture-raised pork from Farmhand Foods.

Key to our good working relationship is Duke’s willingness to be flexible and commit to a standing weekly order. Curtis Wong, Sous Chef at Duke’s West Campus remarks, “We do our best to purchase what our Farm to Fork vendors have available and need to move, which we understand varies seasonally. It’s my job to menu those items. That’s what makes it challenging and creative for me as a chef.” (pictured: Curtis Wong & Joseph Drommer, Duke Dining)

We appreciate customers who understand that Farmhand Foods is always looking for ways to utilize whole animals. Duke makes our job easier by purchasing a substantial portion of each hog we source. They buy whole hams to smoke for Sunday brunch, shoulder cuts for pulled pork sandwiches, loins and ribs for rotisserie stations, and sausages for pizza, pasta and gravy.  According to Sous Chef, Joseph Drommer, Duke’s West Campus sources most of its pork, other than a few specialty items, from Farmhand Foods.  These purchases provide Duke students with the opportunity to eat food “with a face” and in a very tangible way support small-scale, humanely-oriented livestock producers throughout North Carolina.

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It’s only a week behind us but we’re still reveling in the good energy cooked up at this year’s Carolina Meat Conference in Bermuda Run. With over 380 participants, this year’s NC Choices’ conference played like a “who’s who in the niche meat industry” bringing together livestock producers, commercial processors, neighborhood butchers, chefs and meat buyers throughout North Carolina and beyond. The venue, a newly renovated dairy barn in Bermuda Run, included a Hogwart’s style Great Hall perfect for celebrating the growth of this fledgling industry.

Monday night featured a pre-dinner beef cutting demonstration by master butchers, Adam Tiburio and Kari Underly. The crowd pressed in close to watch Adam deftly break down a side of gorgeous grassfed beef (kudos to Summerfield Farm). As he built up a sweat, Kari narrated, talking through unique cuts to add value to beef merchandising. Not to be outdone, an amazing and unique family-style “Snout to Tail” dinner followed, featuring charcuterie prepared by the Blind Pig Supper Club of Asheville made from odd bits: tails, ears, heads and liver — donated by Farmhand Foods.

Later in the evening, Temple Grandin, Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, wowed the crowd with her honest and straightforward talk about humane animal slaughter, noting “These animals are raised for us and deserve our respect.” Over 50 percent of the livestock slaughtered in the U.S. moves through facilities she’s designed. Temple hit her stride Tuesday morning when she had a chance to “talk shop” with practitioners and cover specific techniques used to improve animal handling and slaughter. For anyone who missed it, her website includes a rich assortment of information and the HBO movie about her early years dealing with autism is a must-see (www.templegrandin.com).

Several other workshops deserve a shout out. Debbie Hamrick of the NC Farm Bureau gave a data-rich, entertaining talk about consumer decision-making and the role that national events, such as the 911 attacks, have played in shaping consumers’ interest in stronger connections to food as tangible symbols of what “really matters” in life. Arion Thiboumery of Lorentz Meats in Minnesota and co-Director of the Niche Meat Processors Assistance Network hit home with a compelling look at why meat processors are (or are not) making money and what they can do about it.

Farmhand Foods staff was excited to participate on two panels, sharing the stage with Emily Lancaster of Animal Welfare Approved and one of our key hog producers, Jeremiah Jones of the NC Natural Hog Grower’s Association. This discussion, both practical and philosophical, focused on how to grow local meat supply chains with integrity. We were also part of a “Women in the Meat Business” panel, where participants (mostly women livestock producers and small-scale processors) discussed challenges unique to women, strengths women bring to the industry, and needs they have for leadership development. Keep an eye out next year for an NC Choices’ two-day seminar focused exclusively on these issues.

All of us here at Farmhand appreciated the opportunity to network with our partners, peers, regulators, and customers. Seth Gross and Cece Lopez from Bull City Burger & Brewery, Isiah Allen of Il Palio, Regan Stachler of Little Hen, staff at Weaver St. Market, and Jay Pierce of Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen were all there. And some were able to participate in the Chef Track, a hands-on approach to learning butchery and charcuterie techniques from some all-star instructors — Craig Deihl of Cypress in Charleston, Tanya Cauthen of Belmont Butchery in Richmond, Virginia and Tyler Cook of The Chop Shop in Asheville.

Last but not least, it was a blast to watch some of our most trusted colleagues receive much deserved recognition from NC Choices. Eliza Maclean of Cane Creek Farm, Richard and Ronnie Huettman of Acre Station Meat Farm, and Andrea Reusing of Lantern Restaurant each received awards for early innovations and leadership in North Carolina’s local and niche meat industry.

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We’re excited to announce that Farmhand Foods been selected as a “Study Hub” by the Wallace Center at Winrock International. A food hub, as defined by the US Department of Agriculture, is a business or organization that connects producers with buyers by offering a suite of production, distribution and marketing services. Growing in popularity around the country, food hubs are considered innovative business models that allow farmers of all sizes to meet the growing consumer demand for fresh, local food by facilitating their entry into larger-volume markets such as grocery stores, hospitals and schools.

The nine Study Hubs selected by the Wallace Center’s National Good Food Network Food Hub Collaboration represent different business models and regions of the country. They are being studied in an effort to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by regional food hubs, with the goal of applying lessons learned to growing food hubs nationwide.

“We are thrilled to be selected and energized by the opportunity for shared learning with other food hubs in similar stages of development throughout the country. This comes at a good time for us as we plan how to scale up and work with more farmers and buyers,” says Jennifer Curtis, Co-Founder of Farmhand Foods.

The other regional food hubs selected are the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) in Salinas, California; Cherry Capital Foods in Traverse City, Michigan; Farm Fresh Rhode Island in Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Common Market Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Grasshoppers Distribution in Louisville, Kentucky; Idaho’s Bounty Co-op in Hailey and Garden City, Idaho; Jack and Jake’s, Inc., in New Orleans, Louisiana; and Local Food Hub in Charlottesville, VA. Farmhand Foods is the only Study Hub selected that focuses exclusively on meat.

For more information on the Wallace Center’s Study Hub project, click here.

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Bull City Burger and Brewery is one of Farmhand Foods’ most important customers. Why? Because they consistently purchase close to 1,000 pounds of meat from us every week. They take their commitment to local sourcing of pasture-raised beef and pork seriously – buying whole muscle cuts and preparing delicious house-made burgers, hot dogs, and bacon for their family-style brewery in downtown Durham.

For owner, Seth Gross, this is a dream come true. Seth grew up cooking and always wanted to be a chef. But his parents were skeptical and insisted he go to college. Two weeks after he finished a degree in microbiology (a specialty that comes in handy running a brewery!), Seth enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America. He’s been on a gastronomic path ever since, including stints at the Scottsdale Princess Resort in Arizona and Goose Island Brewery in Chicago. Recalls Seth, “What I really began to understand was that great taste comes from great ingredients – simple, fresh, and without additives. “

Thus began his search for the opportunity to open his own restaurant exclusively featuring seasonal, local ingredients. “Because I always wanted to open a burger joint, I knew identifying a local source for meat would be essential. Our partnership with Farmhand Foods allows us to source high-quality, pasture-raised meat from local farmers year round.”

Despite a down economy, business at Bull City Burger and Brewery continues to grow since Seth opened the doors 18 months ago. Last week during Octoberfest, they served well over 900 people in one day – far exceeding growth expectations and affirming their decision to open on Sundays and expand to include outdoor patio seating year round. “Downtown Durham was ready for us and we’re thrilled they keep coming back for more.”

For more information, visit www.bullcityburgerandbrewery.com.

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We’ve been busy visiting cattle farms this fall, evaluating new farmers for our producer network.  It’s a great time of year – the pastures are still green and momma cows are birthing young calves.  Little known fact – the  “teets” on a heifer (female) beef cow are positioned in such a way that they make it more difficult (compared to a dairy cow) for young calves to nurse.  But as this photograph illustrates, persistence pays off and usually results in a full face “milk mustache.”

We’ve ramped up our beef farm visits this year because, quite frankly, we can’t keep up with customer demand.  It typically takes two years to raise a “finished” beef cow, so we’re out now “wrangling” supply for the future.

Farm visits involve a lot of conversation and observation.  We’re figuring out if a beef producer is a good fit with our network.  Fundamentally it’s a question of whether their production practices match our protocols.  Are their animals healthy and well cared for?  Are their pastures diverse enough (or on their way to becoming so) to provide year-round grass and forages?  And, bottom line, it requires a “gut check” to assess whether this is the beginning of a relationship built around mutual support and trust.

Most beef producers in North Carolina are “cow/calf” producers, meaning they keep momma cows and young calves, and once they are weaned (around 6 months of age) they get them ready to sell into commodity markets.  These are usually local stockyards or brokers who buy truckloads to ship to feedlots further west or north.  Producing “finished” animals for local markets requires a change in mindset – rather than selling a commodity calf crop, a producer is selling meat.  And the quality of that meat is fundamentally tied to their management practices – animal handling, feeding and nutrition, and grazing systems, to name a few.

Farmhand Foods represents a new market opportunity for North Carolina beef producers – one that provides a much closer connection to the end consumer and the opportunity to be a part of creating a dependable food supply close to home.

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We are excited to report that Farmhand Foods has been awarded a Phase I grant from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture.  SBIR grants are provided by several federal agencies to stimulate technological innovations in the private sector, including strengthening the role that women-owned (and socially and economically disadvantaged) small businesses play in commercializing products and services that lead to significant public benefit.   In this instance, USDA seeks to support the development of business solutions that provide market opportunities for small and mid-scale farmers.   We intend to use these funds to support innovation in two key areas: 1) producer engagement strategies that strengthen local market opportunities for North Carolina’s pasture-based livestock producers, and 2) marketing strategies that enhance whole-animal utilization across different market channels.  Through a sub-award to the Department of Animal Science at NC State University, we will be working with Dr. Matt Poore (Beef Unit Coordinator with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems)  to evaluate the nutritional attributes of pasture-raised beef.  We are particularly grateful for grant support at this stage of Farmhand Foods’ development as we tackle scaling to achieve sustainability.  Stay tuned for lessons learned!

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This past weekend in Fountaintown, the NC Natural Hog Growers Association hosted a BBQ supper for producers, buyers, and allied businesses to share a meal and get to know each other better in a casual setting.  Farmhand Foods’ staff was there to visit with old friends and meet some of the Association’s new producers.  It was a unique gathering that brought together key players (and their families) involved in developing the wholesale, pasture-raised pork industry in the state.   The food, catered by The Pig, was delicious.  We enjoyed being able to share with producers the list of different restaurants that are now serving their pork.  Of course, conversation couldn’t help but come back around to the price hike corn is going to take due to drought-related shortages.

As a general rule, these folks are camera shy, but we insisted.  In between rain showers, we got everyone out on the porch for a group shot.

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Farmhand Foods is hiring a local meat distribution assistant! Deadline for applications is July 9th. See attached position description for details.
Position Announcement – Distribution Assistant June 2012

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