According to the Wallace Center of the Winrock Foundation, retail sales of domestically produced grassfed beef were less than $5 million in 1998. Only about 100 beef producers were actively involved in grassfed beef production at that time. Fast forward to 2012 and domestic retail sales of grassfed beef were over $400 million. If you added in the imported grassfed beef products the complete total was more than $1.5 billion. This is a growth industry in every sense of the word.
One of the key players in the front line of this industry is Allen Williams, a 6th generation family farmer and founding partner of Grass Fed Beef, LLC, Grass Fed Insights, LLC, Standard Soil, and a partner in Joyce Farms, Inc. He has consulted with more than 4300 farmers and ranchers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and South America on operations ranging from a few acres to over 1 million acres. Allen pioneered many of the early adaptive grazing and grass fed protocols and forage finishing techniques and has spent the last 15 years refining those. He served 15 years on the faculty at Louisiana Tech University and Mississippi State University and holds a B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Genetics Reproductive Physiology from LSU. He has authored more than 400 scientific and popular press articles, and is an invited speaker at regional, national, and international conferences and symposia. Major areas of research and business focus include soil health, adaptive forage; grazing management, integration of cover crops and grazing, high attribute pasture-based meat production, and alternative marketing systems.
Allan is featured in the Carbon Nation films, “Soil Carbon Cowboys” and “Soil Carbon Curious” and has a recently released book co-authored with Teddy Gentry, Before You Have A Cow. Allen is a regular contributor to GRAZE and has written articles for the Organic Broadcaster, Stockman GrassFarmer, and many other publications.
Growth of the Grass Fed Beef Market & How to Sustainably and Profitably Produce and Market Grass-Fed Beef
Allen will be talking about the growth of the grassfed beef market and how to take advantage of it. With this industry growing at 25-30% a year, there is lots of opportunity to increase income and profit for ranching operations already practicing regenerative agriculture and raising and/or finishing their animals on grass. Learn how to make the most of this opportunity with industry insider insights.
will offer thought-provoking presentations and breakout sessions on various consumer and producer interests. Local food security, land health, strengthening our communities and nourishing our bodies all included! We have something for everyone, so come learn from the experts!
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