06/27/07 Surprise! It's beef

Hey meat eaters! Do you want to eat meat that has less fat than chicken? I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to tell you what that might be. John and Pat Sondgeroth of Mendota, Illinois sell meat that has 1.85 grams of total fat per ounce and 67.9 milligrams cholesterol compared to skinless chicken breast recording 2.7 grams of total fat and 65 milligrams cholesterol per ounce. That meat is beef; yep beef from cattle they market through their Heartland Meats, Inc. The Piedmontese cattle Sondgeroths raise originated in Italy and produces this beef with less fat than more popular breeds of cattle. In The Progressive Farmer magazine article written by Rhonda Brooks, Sondgeroth relates the beef from Piedmontese is so lean that it usually grades a low end select in the USDA quality grading systems. This is probably why the Piedmontese is not one of the most popular beef breeds. Most select graded beef is tough and less tasteful than choice or prime beef, but Sondgeroth says this beef cuts and tastes like the higher grades. Think you might want to try this beef? Well, a ten-ounce rib eye steak sells for $13.75 and the ground beef is priced at $7.33 per pound. This makes repeat customers a little bigger challenge. But then, that's what niche markets are all about  paying for uniqueness and or quality of a product. I'm Jeff Keane. The Progressive Farmer June/July 2007