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RESOURCES

Meat Supply Chain tools and suggested readings.

MEAT SUPPLY CHAINS
Meat Supply Chain tools and suggested readings.

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CSU research and extension works to advance market opportunities, build connections, and support collective skills development and learning across many segments and scales of Colorado and the Western U.S.’s meat supply chain.

BIOSECURITY

Healthy Farms Healthy Agriculture: for training and source of current information on how to make biosecurity a routine on the farm and anywhere livestock animals are raised.
https://www.healthyagriculture.org/

Animal Disease Information USDA APHIS:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information

Animal Disease Traceability:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/traceability

Center for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University, Information on bovine diseases and biosecurity:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/traceability

Colorado Secure Beef Supply Plan:
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/Cow-Calf-Emergency-Disease-Response-Plan.pdf

Colorado Dept of Ag: Animal Health Division:
https://www.colorado.gov/aganimals

Reportable Diseases in Colorado:
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/aganimals/livestock-health

Production/Finishing Animals for Meat

American GrazingLands Services Bookstore:
https://www.americangrazinglands.com/collections/books-more

OnPasture:
https://onpasture.com/

Animal Feeding and Nutrition, 11th Edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Feeding-Nutrition-JURGENS-MARSHALL/dp/0757591132

The Art and Science of Grazing: How Grass Farmers Can Create Sustainable Systems for Healthy Animals and Farm Ecosystems by Sarah Flack. Chelsea Green Publishing. 2016.
https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-art-and-science-of-grazing/

Happy Pigs Taste Better: A Complete Guide to Organic and Humane Pasture-Based Pork Production by Alice Percy. Chelsea Green Publishing. 2019.
https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/happy-pigs-taste-better/

Selecting Cattle for Finishing on Grass by Dr. Allen Williams. Article in Graze, 3/1/2014.
http://www.grazeonline.com/selectingcattlegrassfinishing

Scaling Grassfed Beef by Dr. Allen Williams. Article in HMI, 4/13/2018
https://holisticmanagement.org/featured-blog-posts/scaling-grassfed-beef-by-allen-williams/

Live Ultrasound for Assessing Beef Carcass Quality videos by Dr. Allen Williams at the 2018 Grassfed Exchange Conference.
https://pasturemap.com/live-animal-ultrasound-explained/

Determining Market Readiness of Beef Cattle (Cornell Cooperative Extension) video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrF5aCEAI-0

The Biggest Pitfalls to Producing Grassfed Lamb by Janet McNally. Article in Graze, 10/1/2015.
https://www.grazeonline.com/pitfallsgrassfedlamb

Livestock Handling & Slaughter

Temple Grandin’s Guide to Working with Farm Animals: Safe, Humane Livestock Handling Practices for the Small Farm. Storey Publishing. 2017.
https://www.storey.com/books/temple-grandins-guide-working-farm-animals/

Livestock Transportation Best Practices video from Penn State Extension:
https://youtu.be/sG8B6zT3ZEE

Importance of sending clean cattle to slaughter video from AHDB Beef & Lamb, UK:
https://youtu.be/61_gN7U0Fe8 

Meat Processing & Fabrication

NMPAN Beginner’s Guide to Local Meat Processing
https://www.nichemeatprocessing.org/beginners-guide-to-local-meat-processing

Four short and easy-to-read fact sheets — free to download — cover:

Beef & Pork Whole Animal Buying Guide, Iowa State University. 2009

This full-color, coil-bound consumer-oriented guide explains buying pork and beef as whole animals (or portions thereof). Includes marketing terms and information on storage and handling, meat inspection and meat weight, and common retail pork and beef cuts. Sturdy, coated card stock meant for regular use. Also downloadable as a pdf.
https://store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/Beef-and-Pork-Whole-Animal-Buying-Guide

Meat Weights & Pricing Terms, from Cornell University Meat Suite project
http://meatsuite.com/page/weights-and-pricing

Butchering Beef: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering, by Adam Danforth. 2014. Storey Publishing.
https://www.storey.com/books/butchering-beef/

Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering, by Adam Danforth. 2014. Storey Publishing.
https://www.storey.com/books/butchering-poultry-rabbit-lamb-goat-and-pork/

Beef Carcass Evaluation video (Cornell Cooperative Extension)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-I8LJL9uCU

Beef Retail Fabrication video (University of Kentucky)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PBGvoEFE74

Pork Retail Fabrication video (University Of Kentucky)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sVVqx8vvA0

Regulations

Explaining the 4 Types of Meat Inspection– federal, state, retail exempt, and custom exempt.
http://www.nichemeatprocessing.org/meat-inspection

Resource Guide to Direct Marketing Livestock and Poultry. Cornell University Small Farms Program (in process of being updated, this version is from 2011).
https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/resource-guide-to-direct-marketing-livestock-and-poultry/

Marketing & Pricing

Meat Suite– a project of Cornell University to help consumers find freezer meat in New York. A good model for connecting consumers to farmers.
http://meatsuite.com/

Cornell Meat Price & Yield Calculator, a project of Cornell Cooperative Extension. This tool helps you set meat prices for each marketing channel in which you sell, to ensure you reach your PROFIT goals.
http://calculator.meatsuite.com/

Websites/Sales Platforms for selling meat online (not an endorsement of either company, just options to look at)

Other Publications/Online Journals related to niche meat production and marketing

Stockman GrassFarmer

Acres USA

On Pasture

Graze

Drovers Cattle Network

High Plains Journal

APPPA Grit

A growing number of our members are interested in accessing niche markets. Colorado State University’s work on meat supply chains helps to bridge gaps between producers, processors, and markets.

MARTHA SULLINS
Extension Regional Specialist, Agriculture and Business Management

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