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PASA Business Member Profile - Local Pastures - March/April 2011 Issue
Grazing in Local Pastures
By Gayle Morrow
Local Pastures™, like many businesses, has a mission statement: Make locally-raised grass-fed organic beef readily available at all grocery stores, while keeping you connected to the farmers at the Local Pastures website. The Delaware county-based business adds an interesting twist to the concept, however, by putting a bit of onus on its clients/consumers and giving them a mission statement, too: Demand your grocer carry locally-raised grass-fed organic beef (as well as pork, chicken, lamb, eggs, milk, cheese, and anything else you can think of).
Local Pastures founder Blaise Santianni explains that as a consumer he was frustrated with the lack of availability of local sources of meat and other products.
“I was in a position to do something original and I said ‘I’m going to fix this problem.’”
It wasn’t exactly voila; there is some choice of several types of meat in the big chain supermarkets, but local products were confined to small specialty stores. There is a market out there, he says, but most people who are interested in these kinds of products and not “hardcore,” and want things available “where they shop and preferably in the volume they want.”
Blaise first tried supplying all types of meat and cheeses - pork from Countrytime Farm, cheese from Birchrun Hills farm, chicken and eggs from several farmers – but maintaining relationships and a modicum of consistency over such a broad range of products was too difficult. “I realized I’d have to focus on one product,” says Santianni. He opted for beef.
In a nutshell (or a hamburger bun) what he does is buy sides of beef from farmers (typically with herds not larger than 50 head) who raise their cattle according to the conditions of the Local Pastures label. He works with Smuckers Meats in Mt. Joy on the processing, then with a packer for high-end cuts and finally with the retail outlets.
“It’s incredibly complicated to market, buy and sell,” he says. “People say they want it but they can’t afford it. No matter how you slice it, grass-fed is expensive.”
Part of this “real fascinating dynamic” is that the beef supply is limited by the farmer trying to manage relatively small herds and processors’ schedules. There is also a great deal of non-premium beef he has to market, namely the ubiquitous ground beef.
“It’s all about the ground,” Santianni says, explaining that ground beef is typically sold at a loss. “You can’t target ground beef as the place to make your money.” So, he’s developed a market for beef sticks - a value-added product that uses the same hard-to-sell cuts and trim that usually go into ground.
“People are buying them,” he says, adding that he is feeling optimistic but is trying to figure out how to bring costs down and add more exotic flavors .
But whether its tenderloin or hamburger, Santianni believes in his farmers and in the quality of their beef.
“It’s a craft product that you buy for a lot of different reasons,” he says. “It’s the equivalent of fancy chocolates. And once you meet the farmers, it totally changes your whole perspective. It’s special.”
For more information visit www.localpastures.com or call 484-326-9956.
Interview with Blaise Santianni
What is unique about your business/organization? 
Local Pastures™ is the only company in Pennsylvania representing PA farmers that brands, markets and sells 100% grass-fed beef to retail outlets in southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey and whose label correctly and legally states the following claims - "raised without added antibiotics and hormones."
What does the term "sustainable" mean to you, and how do you incorporate that into your business/organization?
Making a commitment to grass-fed beef is a commitment to sustainability. My farmers only raise cattle that can be fed by the grass and hay that the land they own (or rent) can produce. If they over graze, they can't produce the same amount of quality animals in following years. It is in the grass fed beef farmer's best interest to manage the size of his herd to produce a constant supply of quality beef year after year.
What do you see as some of the critical issues facing ag and ag-related businesses today?
There are too many small beef farmers all trying to wear too many hats. Farming is what farmers do best. Engaging in marketing, distribution, sales and customer service to maximize their profits is a false promise. They need to produce the best possible grass-fed beef and leave it up to others who can bring their quality beef into an efficient supply chain. Hundreds of small farmers all competing to sell the “same” product creates a low-cost model for a product that, by definition, doesn't have low production costs. Locally raised beef can't be scaled by the farmer or processor. Only distribution can be scaled, but that can only have a slight impact on the over all cost of grass-fed beef. The low cost model determines the craft farmer doing his most to produce quality beef that is properly processed, packed, labeled and distributed.
What do you see as the connection between sustainable ag and the consumer?
Deliver quality to a consumer and he or she will become unwitting participants in sustainable ag. Convincing them to buy certain foods or support local farmers simply because it may be sustainable only resonates with a small percentage of the buying public, especially when quality isn't guaranteed. Mandates guiding or limiting consumers' choices only result in antagonism and turn the whole issue into a political football. Let the believers; the farmers, the purveyors, the health food stores, the advocates etc. convince the consumer with facts AND quality. This, one hopes, forces the consumer to choose between doing the right thing or making the same Faustian bargain we, as a culture, have made with cheap beef.
PASA Farm Member Profile - Wild Meadows Farm - Nov/Dec 2010 Issue
By Sarah Graham
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Tucked in the southern Alleghenies in south central Pennsylvania, are a couple of adventurous new farmers. Joel Cahalan and Kim Walsh feel privileged to work amongst the sloped fields, oak stands, hemlock groves, sassafras and other varietal vegetation and landscape that make up Wild Meadows Farm.
Joel Cahalan is a certified permaculture teacher and aspiring biointensive gardener whose mentors include Dave Jacke and John Jeavons. While not new to sustainable food issues, having cofounded a Minneapolis community garden in 1996 and volunteering on several CSA’s through the years, he finds his new role on the farm a challenging and exciting venture. He manages the production aspects of Wild Meadows Farm and in a former life co-founded and helped manage a bicycle worker cooperative.
Together with Kim Walsh, they cofounded Wild Meadows Farm in 2009. Kim received her permaculture design course certificate in 2008, and she now serves as the Executive Director of Chesapeake Education, Arts, and Research Society (CHEARS), a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization based in Greenbelt, Maryland and assists with the numerous volunteer driven projects that integrate the arts, education, and research in their environmental stewardship within the Chesapeake Watershed. As one of this year’s projects, Joel and Kim have cultivated a biointensive garden based on the work of Ecology Action (growbiointensive.org); a series of twenty-six, 100 square foot beds intended to supply much of their personal and workshop food needs and demonstrate sustainable food production without fossil fuels.
They have also established a 3–5 acre organic farm, certified by Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) and are working with Tuscarora Organic Growers (TOG) Cooperative. As part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, this farm is uniquely located in an area that links both rural and urban communities northwest of the District of Columbia metropolitan area and east of Pittsburgh.
German immigrants settled the farm in the 1880’s, according to Joel, and the current owners have owned the property since 1992. Joel and Kim, recently moved from Minnesota, have been tending the farm and teaching there for two years. Joel says the first year they grew over eighty varieties of vegetables for a local farmers market. This year they decided to focus on specialty crops, such as pumpkins, in collaboration with TOG. Using the farm as a model for sustainability, Joel said, “It is important to generate excitement, educate and be creative about ways to design home scale gardens for a self-sustaining food source. Our focus is on family and neighborhood food systems.”
Growing practices that include cultivating soil diversity through compost application, crop rotation, and cover crops, creating habitat for beneficial insect predators and swales for water irrigation, are just a few of the ways this farm works towards becoming less dependent on outside resources.
Currently they are working to build a barn roof rainwater collection system for irrigation, and a high tunnel to increase yields and supply a Community Supported Agriculture program. Joel reiterated the importance of connection with the land stating, “We use practices that emphasize hand tools and small scale machines such as a walk behind tractor,” with the goal of producing food with a positive energy balance.
Education is a key component to the farm, and the on-site bank barn acts as a classroom, dance and performance space, and storage for farm equipment. Kim said, “In order to re-localize our food systems and move toward sustainable food practices, it takes a shift in our way of thinking, and ultimately our cultural assumptions.”
Workshop topics at Wild Meadows Farm include biointensive gardening, permaculture design, cob construction, and other skills that focus on a cooperative and experiential approach to learning. They are also meant to build a bridge between urban and rural communities, helping people gain further value in connection with the land. Kim said, “The concept of nourishing relationships and interconnections is at the heart of our teaching, because it leads to empowering positive community actions.” In order to do that, Joel and Kim provide a holistic design approach that addresses land use planning, garden design, water storage systems, sunlight constraints and energy, to name a few.
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Joel said, when asked about what current agricultural issues he sees are most prevalent, “We are seeing more people leave farming every year, and I think both rural and urban revitalization needs to take place that helps reverse the current policies that have lead to a dwindling farm population and a disconnection from our food. Growing nutrient dense food as close to where it is eaten as possible is the goal.” Hopefully, with education and guidance from young farmers like Joel and Kim, more inventive spirits will follow in their footsteps.
For information about Wild Meadows Farm, 456 Smith Road, Schellsburg, PA http://wildmeadowsfarm.com. Suggested resources: www.postcarbon.org,
www.growbiointensive.org, www.permacultureactivist.net.
Interview with Joel and Kim
What is unique about your business/ organization?
We believe that peak oil and climate chaos are the defining issues on the planet at this time. In a very short period we need to transform our culture from one based on hyper-exploitation of non-renewable resources and the destruction of the natural world to one that can be maintained for millennium. As new farmers we incorporate biointensive growing practices, permaculture ethics & principles, and eco-social education into our business structure. We strive for diversity in all of our endeavors,
which currently include small-scale biointensive grain and vegetable production, woodland medicinals, permaculture design consulting, renewable energy system design and installation, and reskilling workshops.
What does the term “sustainable” mean to you, and how do you incorporate that into your business/organization?
One often-used definition of sustainable is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Under critical examination, it is clear that very little current human economic activity meets this standard. Building sustainability entails reorganizing economic activity at the local level and worldwide into systems that create no waste and do not require continual expansion. We strive towards these goals in our own business but without a cultural shift it will not be possible to fully realize them.
What do you see as some of the critical issues facing ag and ag-related businesses today? Critical issues include:
1. Re-localizing food production while transitioning off of fossil fuels.
2. A new generation of farmers is needed that is committed to producing abundance while increasing ecosystem diversity.
3. Creating sustainable food systems while dealing with a challenging new climate.
What do you see as the connection between sustainable agriculture and the consumer?
We believe that in order to create a sustainable agricultural system, the United States should have a goal of producing 50% of food in home gardens. Along with a return to many small local producers, reduced meat consumption, and afforestation efforts the carbon footprint of agriculture could be greatly reduced and perhaps even become net carbon negative. Growing and eating food straight from the gardens along with cultivating ecosystem resilience is vital for sustaining life on the beautiful planet we all call home.
PASA Business Member Profile Archives (under development)
Earth Tools Inc
Restaurant Alba
Settlers Inn
Victory Brewing Co.
Whole Foods Cooperative
PASA Farmer Profile Archives
Berry Fields Farm
Brumbaugh Farm
Clodhopper Farm
Creekside Farm
Eden View Organics
Forks Farm
Green Meadow Farm
Healcrest Urban Community Farm
Hidden Hills Dairy/Jerseys
Paradise Valley Organic Farm
Quiet Creek Herb Farm
Red Wiggler Community Farm
Rumbleway Farm
Star Hollow Farm
Tewksbury Grace Farm
Tussock Sedge Farm
Upland Lawn Farm
Watson Farm
Willow Bank Jerseys
PASA Business Member Advertorials - 2008 Newsletter Articles
Agri-Dynamics Inc (Permanent Business Partner)
Harrisburg Dairies
Milestone Centers Inc
University of Scranton Small Business Development Center
PASA Business Member Advertorials - 2007 Newsletter Articles
Agri-Service LLC
Bakewell Reproductive Center LLC
BCS America
Dairyland Sales & Service Inc
Emma's Food for Life
Fertrell Company
Harris Seeds
Leona Meat Plant Inc
Natural by Nature
Organic Valley Family Farms
Pennsylvania Certified Organic
Poultry Man LLC
Smucker's Quality Meats
Solair Energy Inc
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