Consumer demand for local meats is strong. As more cattle producers consider supplying beef for consumers and others look to improve or expand their offerings, a variety of questions arise, and the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is eager to give answers.
“We continue to receive questions on a regular basis from cattle producers wanting to know about the regulatory requirements for selling meat, how to know when cattle are ready to produce quality meat products, how to market meat and more,” says Megan Bruch Leffew, marketing specialist with the UT Center for Profitable Agriculture. “With encouragement and help from local UT Extension agents who have also been receiving a lot of questions, we have put together a day-long workshop to address many of these questions.”
Cattle producers interested in learning more about directly marketing beef to consumers are invited to join speakers from UT Extension, the Tennessee Beef Industry Council and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for one of two day-long workshops to be held in August. The workshop, called Pasture to Plate: Considerations for Direct-to-Consumer Beef Sales, will cover topics including regulations for marketing live animals for custom-exempt processing and meat, finishing cattle effectively, how to pencil out your potential for profit, what producers need to know about meat quality, how much meat to expect, tips for working with processors, marketing resources and assistance available.
The in-person workshop is available at two locations on two different dates. The first is in Columbia, Tenn. on August 17 from 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. CDT at the W.P Ridley 4-H Center. The second workshop takes place on August 25 in Greeneville, Tenn. from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EDT at the Clyde Austin 4-H Center. Registration is required five business days in advance of each workshop with a $30 registration fee per person. Lunch will be provided. Producers may register online at https://tiny.utk.edu/DTCBeef.
The workshop fulfills a Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP) Producer Diversification educational requirement for the value-added sector. Questions about TAEP should be directed to producer.diversification@tn.gov.
Questions about the workshops can be directed to Megan Bruch Leffew at mleffew@utk.edu.