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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: GrassRoots Meats |
Patsy Lindblad | 6/26/09
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He always wanted to get into ranching, but just never did while he lived in Houston, Texas. Last week, Allan Higgins shared with me his journey from carpet layer to successful owner/operator of GrassRoots Meats in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. GrassRoots produces as natural as possible, grass-finished beef and lamb raised without added hormones or antibiotics.
Allan and his wife, Lois, came to Pagosa in 1976. After a few years, a couple of Chromo cattlemen convinced him that he could make a living at ranching—although he wouldn’t get rich, and it would be hard work.
“It’s not nearly as hard as carpet laying, and I get to ride (my horse) around a lot of nice country and be with my family,” Allan says looking back.
He started in the commodity markets nights and weekends, grazing yearling cows, until he reached a point where he could let go of his regular carpet laying job.
“I would sell everything through the sale barn. When you sell that way, your price is dictated to you, instead of setting your price according to your overhead. Sending the cattle to the feed lot also involves a lot of medical expenses—hormones, antibiotics, a lot of sickness. It’s a wreck!
“I was fortunate enough to meet a few people several years ago who suggested I look into niche marketing—direct marketing—to have a little more control over my future. I did and liked the whole concept of all-natural, grass finishing.
“Then I was guiding an elk hunter one time,” Allan continued, “and he just wanted to sit and talk about rotational grazing and niche marketing, and he sent me subscriptions to journals about it all. I thought ‘this all seems the way it’s supposed to be.’
“The animal’s digestive system is designed by nature to consume forages (hay and grass),” Allan told me. “So then you can use low-grade farmland—low grade forage land instead of crop land—to turn it into a good protein meat product.”
From the company’s website I learned that many folks in the meat industry use the term "grass-fed" to describe their meat, but nearly all cattle and sheep are fed grass early on in their lives. Allan not only raises his animals on grass, he also finishes them on grass, with no supplemental grain.
“One of the many problems in the commodity industry today is that producers try to fatten the animals (with grain) as quickly as possible, and they use hormones to speed up the process. In the feedlot it takes on average 163 days to get a calf up to 1200-1300 lbs. For me to do it on grass takes two to two-and-a-half years.”
Taking longer to finish the animals on grass costs more, but Allan thinks it’s well worth the price in terms of health benefits and the quality of the meat he offers.
 I wanted to know more about the health benefits. Allan explained that green forage produces a balance of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, as well as more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which researchers have found particularly effective in the fight against cancer, obesity, diabetes, and a number of other immune disorders.
“Grain-fed animals have four to six times more fat than grass-finished animals do. And the fat that is in the grass-finished animals is a third less saturated fat—saturated fat being something we want to stay away from because it causes heart disease, cancers, and autoimmune diseases.
“So it’s better for people and better for the animals. And it’s better for the ecology—you don’t have all the waste pools and reservoirs, and I rotate the animals through the fields for pasture improvement. It’s a win/win situation across the board.”
Allan noted that attitudes are changing. “People are turning more and more toward a healthy diet. The whole food industry is going green. The all-natural, organic, and whole foods markets are growing like crazy. It’s the fastest growing segment in the food industry today.”
Last year Allan processed about 60 head of beef and 120 lambs. He grazes cow calves on leased land in Oklahoma and Texas. In the summer, he brings yearlings here to graze on land leased throughout the Archuleta area. In winter, he grazes them on spent crop fields (pumpkins, squash, green chilies, alfalfa fields etc.) in northern New Mexico. His lambs summer over in the San Luis Valley and winter north of Alamosa.
The slaughtering and packaging plant he uses south of Alamosa—most of Allan’s product is vacuum-packed—is USDA inspected. He markets directly to area stores and restaurants, like Joy’s Natural Foods, the Made in Colorado Store (owned and operated by Allan’s wife), Chimney Rock Farm, and Boss Hoggs Restaurant, but he also ships and delivers throughout the country.
The GrassRoots internet website is at the forefront of his marketing—about 60% of all his business comes through there.
“We started off with an information-only website because we didn’t think we could sell meat over the internet.” Within two weeks we started getting a response. We added a monthly newsletter. We’ve had amazing response.”
GrassRoots Meats doesn’t have online checkout—they prefer to speak with customers directly. The website provides a variety of package deals for larger orders. But no matter the size of the order or cut of meat people desire, GrassRoots will accommodate their request. Shoppers can call the 800 number to discuss their needs, place their order with a credit card, and arrange for delivery or to pick up their orders at the Made In Colorado Store here on Putt Hill.
Another marketing tool used is a GrassRoots Meats booth at the Pagosa’s Farmers Market and at the Sutherland Farms’ autumn festival in Cedar Hill, New Mexico, just north of Aztec.
Allan contentedly summarized his experiences: “With the direct marketing over the internet versus the commodity market approach, I’ve been able to control what I can make profit-wise.”
GrassRoots Meats discovered there is a market beyond Pagosa Springs. In fact, Allan estimates about 75%-80% of his revenues come from outside Archuleta, resulting in direct-based income to our economy. According to the Archuleta Economic Development Association, this company with its two employees represents the type of “High Flier” business we want to nurture in our community.
Here’s a role model that other local businesses would do well to follow.
GrassRoots Meats is located in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. You can reach them by phone at 1-800-681-2260 or at their website. |
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