Deciding to Market Grass Fed Beef

Deciding how to market your beef is obviously a personal choice for each beef producer to determine for themselves. Montana rancher and writer Lisa Schmidt decided in 1998 to move from selling cattle at the local sales yard to selling grass fed beef directly to consumers.

It is a decision that Lisa says came with a lot of consideration.

Schmidt: “I think you have to think about your costs. You have to think about your story because when people buy meat from us they want to know who is selling it. They want to know who we are and how we raise our beef. Who are we? I’m Lisa Schmidt and my husband is Steve Hutton. Do we feed them grass all the time? Do we finish them on grain? Do we give them antibiotics? Do we eat our own meat? Those things are important — there is no right answer — there are people that care about those different things but there is no right answer you can do it any way you want. Then you just need to find the right audience — customer.”

Schmidt says that there are different beef-raising methods and it is important for the industry to provide choices that fit different consumers wants and needs.

Schmidt: “I’ve learned a lot about the health benefits of it and I’ve also learned that there are different avenues for different people. So we sell grass fed beef. We also promote the industry — we don’t criticize anybody else. That is important — because I’m a rancher and I like my neighbors and they do it different.”

Go to a-land-of-grass-ranch.com for more information.