(Guelph, ON – February 21, 2008) A group of Ontario beef farmers have come up with a plan to increase the value of hamburger, a previously discounted meat product by developing new, premium ground beef products.

Bob Kerr, a beef farmer from Chatham, and partners, Eugene Miniota, Amos Brielmann and Stefan Oellinger believe this effort will help create a sustainable beef industry so that producers get paid to raise a top-quality animal, and the consumer receives a superior beef product.

The project is supported by two funding organizations. The CanAdvance Program, funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Agricultural Adaptation Council, is supporting the project with $43,887. CanAdvance support will be used to help create a new quality-based pricing formula to ensure beef farmers receive a stable and premium price for animals meeting specific quality standards. Additional monies provided by the Beef Information Centre are helping the group develop new premium ground beef products.

According to Bob Kerr, “Almost half of the meat on a carcass is trim (ground beef) which is normally sold at a discounted price. Our goal is to build new markets for this trim, so that we can keep the premium paid to producers high and stable, which will help make their operations sustainable. We also want to establish a value chain which will consistently and efficiently supply a high-quality, high-value product, with stable and sustainable pricing for each link in the chain.”

Kim Turnbull, chair of the Agricultural Adaptation Council notes that “creating this stable supply should help keep demand high for Canadian-grown beef, and help insulate producers against price decreases. Sharing carcass and meat quality information with producers will also encourage them to keep producing a better animal.”

The producers involved in this project believe that the key to earning a premium price for trim is to turn it into new value-added ground beef products. They're preparing to launch five new brand food products: a three-pack of lean Angus ground beef; a pasta roll of ground beef in organic tomato sauce, a premium meat cannelloni, Angus meatballs and summer sausage.

The project began in March 2007, and it’s already been successful. Sobeys Ontario is purchasing a significant amount of beef, including lean ground beef and is open to carry their new value-added products once they have been developed. In addition, Kerr Farms Beef Pasta Rolls are being sold through Costco stores in eastern Canada, and10,000 units have already been delivered.

“The beef pasta roll is the first of its kind,” says Bob Kerr. “It is a highly convenient frozen entree, sold as a Kerr Farms Brand product. It is being well received by Costco customers, both in Ontario and in Quebec.”

Kerr notes that the group has recently expanded, and it is hoped that this program will ultimately benefit many beef producers.

The Agricultural Adaptation Council is a non-profit, grass roots coalition of 71 agricultural, agribusiness and rural organizations dedicated to providing financial resources to help Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry remain profitable, grow and maintain its economic strength.

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For more information:
Nadine Armstrong
Communications Manager
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Ph: 519-822-7554
E-mail: narmstrong@adaptcouncil.org
Website: www.adaptcouncil.org