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Texas
Agriculture Archive
March 21, 2003
Burgundy Beef
Meeting consumer needs nets profits
for Jon and Wendy Taggart...
By Lana Robinson
Field Editor
After running a stocker operation for 20 years, and enduring adverse weather and volatile markets, Jon and Wendy Taggart of Grandview decided to rethink their approach.
"We struggled with a stocker operation, bringing calves in and preconditioning them for feedlots," Wendy Taggart recalls. "When you put $20,000 in seed and fertilizer and don't get a drop of rain, you have to wonder about the risk you are taking. Jon and I have three children. We came to the conclusion that if we were going to continue to take this risk, we have to be rewarded for it."
So the couple turned their attention to the potential for direct marketing beef. Positioned near the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, they knew they had a huge market close at hand, but wanted to offer something that was not readily available— a product that certain consumers really wanted and were willing to pay a premium for. After thoroughly researching other cultures and how they think about food, and determining that there was a significant trend as well among American consumers wanting high-quality beef from animals raised under specific conditions—including source verification—they launched their pasture-raised BURGUNDY Pasture Beef™ concept in 2001. Combining Jon's cattle and forage expertise with Wendy's penchant for marketing, today, the Taggarts' burgeoning business is beginning to pay off.
"We make two deliveries per month to the Dallas area—Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Richardson and other suburbs, which is where the majority of our business comes from. We make 15 to 20 deliveries per trip, and we're making $1,600 to $2,000 per trip. We tripled sales in 2002 over 2001, and it's picking up. The first month of 2003 was triple that of the same month in 2002," Wendy notes.
Wendy posts delivery dates on the BURGUNDY Pasture Beef™ website (www.grassfedbeef.net/), which also offers details about the pastured beef concept, the dry-aging process, cuts and prices, delivery area, recipes and contact information. People can call or place online orders. The frozen beef is transported in a large freezing unit mounted on a trailer.
The Taggarts' customers fall primarily into two groups: 1) families with school age children concerned about their nutrition; and 2) professional women who stay at home with their children and home school them.
"The first group buys our everyday cuts—ground beef and roasts. The second group is our high-end, gourmet type. They buy steaks, and that is about all they buy. And they are willing to pay more for the attributes they feel are important for their families," says Wendy.
The Taggarts have targeted consumers who want assurances that their beef has been raised naturally, which means no antibiotics in their feed, no hormone implants, and no herbicides or pesticides used on the pastures they graze. The Taggarts' current prices are: Eye of Round Roast, $4.59; Top Sirloin (1 1/4 inch) thick filet, $6.69; Rib Eye Steak, $12.99; and Tenderloin Filet (1 ½ inches thick), 2 filets per package, $19.99.
The website, a printed brochure and a small ad in Howard Garrett's monthly magazine, Dirt Doctor's Dirt, are the Taggarts only advertising. Most of the business is word of mouth. They are careful not to overreach what they can produce.
Still, Jon admits that knowing how many to raise at any given time is a moving target.
"We purchase heifers for our pasture beef program," says Jon, noting that he also ran heifers in his stocker program. "This way, if we don't need them in the program, we can put them with a bull. We offer top-quality Black Angus, predominately, because they seem to marble a little quicker, and are a little more tender."
Although he grew up in the city, Jon's interest in agriculture developed early from spending lots of time on the weekend farms and ranches of friends. That inspired him to pursue a degree in agriculture from Texas A&M University, and he subsequently attended TCU's (Texas Christian University's) Ranch Management program. He is convinced they're on the right track by marketing their own product rather than going the traditional route or even trying to produce in a cattle alliance of some kind.
"You have no control over the price of your beef that way. Prices go up and down for producers, but they remain relatively stable in the grocery store, so you know somebody's making money—from the cow/calf, seed stock, stocker operation, feedyard and packers. We just took all those out of the middle," he says.
Wendy agrees: "I talked to the people at H-E-B's Central Market, and we could sell them some product, but they really just want the best cuts. We were essentially told that you only have 20 percent of the carcass you can really market domestically and that the other 80 percent can be shipped to Mexico or somewhere else. There's something wrong with that picture to me."
The idea that you can't be successful unless you're creating a commodity you can sell to the masses isn't true, Wendy insists.
"We have a market for all our beef, including our everyday cuts—the roasts and ground beef. We've carved out a niche, and I believe it's a permanent niche," she says.
The Taggarts bill their beef-raising practices as "beef artisanship," which they define as "the art of growing and crafting beef according to the soil, plants, weather seasons, and technique of aging while also providing creative culinary support in the preparation of elegant and casual meals that are fresh, flavorful, and wholesome."
The Taggarts maintain that the soil of the region, variety of plants and different seasons will give the beef a subtle distinctiveness unique to the beef artisan's methods. Burgundy Pasture Beef™ is 100 percent pasture-raised on select cultivated and native grasses, without the use of hormones, antibiotics, grain feeding, or feedlots. Their concept is based on the premise that grasses provide cattle with the most complete and balanced diet, promoting healthy growth without excessive fat production.
The niche beef producers say a combination of factors come into play in arriving at the desired quality for pastured beef.
"I think the difference is that a lot of people use the feedlot age benchmark for maturity, so the animal has no fat cover. Jon finishes our cattle to frame, 1,250 to 1,400 lbs., depending on the individual animal. A good fat cover is necessary to protect the carcass during the aging process."
The Taggarts are also picky about the processing, with special attention paid to how the meat is cut. The meat is aged 21 days, processed and bears the Burgundy Pasture Beef™ label.
"We're on the third one (processor). We're going to Muenster now, but it's not a USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) plant, so we can't sell out of state. We're getting a lot of out-of-state inquiries. Our ultimate goal is to get a cutting room on the farm."
The Taggarts have a long-term lease on 1,400 acres, divided into 30 pastures with a huge conservation lake for irrigation.
"Right now, we're running 217 Mama cows. I have two partners. The partnership pays me to run the place. Our pasture beef program is separate. We buy those. Traceability is essential. I buy some on video auctions, but contact the seller beforehand to make sure he will sign an affidavit.
"I supplement very little, and when I do, it's with alfalfa hay we grow here on the place. Four weeks is all. I follow a high intensity, short duration grazing plan. I run this by myself. Five border collies are my cowboys, and me on my four-wheeler."
Jon and Wendy Taggart feel they are not only offering an alternative to their customers, but also to fellow producers.
"Hopefully, we're setting a precedent for other farmers and ranchers. This is a difficult industry. That's why we're not bringing any new people in. It's important that we learn how to define our customer, and then give them what they want," Wendy suggests.
Jon agrees, adding, "Our goal is to build our business to a certain level, to be able to make a good living in the cow business and send our kids (10-year-old twin girls, Charley and Patsy, and an eight-year-old son, Ben) to college and the other things we ought to be doing."
