Livestock

A Visit with Caite Palmer

Caite's daughter and a calf

Do you have an interest in direct marketing meat products from your farm? Meet Caite Palmer. Caite Palmer is a small farmer located on a century farm in Northeast Iowa. Caite and her husband raise grass-fed and grain-finished Angus cross and Normande beef cattle, as well as Katahdin lambs. Rather than take animals to the sale barn, she markets these meat products directly to consumers. Caite got started direct marketing because it allowed her to decide and control prices for her products. It began with selling whole and half animals. This process came with unique challenges of getting all the meat sold, coordinating customers and the locker. Caite and her husband process their meat at a USDA Inspected locker which offers more flexibility to sell their products across state lines. Once the meat is processed Caite must take a few more steps to abide by regulations. Caite and her husband store the meat in freezers at their house and must obtain a warehouse license. This means the freezers are inspected for cleanliness, temperature, and proper packaging and labeling of products.They are also required hazardous food licenses for every county they sell in when traveling to farmers markets.

Recently she and her husband have explored selling at the Winneshiek Farmers Market, selling beef and lamb cuts of meat directly to customers. Sales through this channel can be unpredictable and it is difficult to change consumer traditions of buying protein from the grocery store. Yet, Caite has experienced success working with this market. You can also find beef and lamb from Caite’s farm at local restaurants and caterers. One thing Caite is expanding toward is a meat Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, allowing purchases to be done online. In a CSA model, consumers purchase “shares” of a farmers crop prior to harvest or processing. Once processing has began those who purchased “shares” will get their portion. This has allowed for more year round sales as well as more flexibility for her family.

To those interested in pursuing direct marketing of meat products, Caite had the following advice from Caite,

  1. “If you’re doing this to get rich, don’t. The public sees the high price of meat and believes you are making large profits. Keep in mind, raising livestock is expensive, processing livestock is expensive, licensing and equipment is expensive, inspections are expensive, and in some cases, childcare is expensive.”

  2. “Make friends with your new coworkers. Create a relationship with your health inspector. The laws and health inspectors are implemented to keep food healthy and safe for everyone. At times you may roll your eyes, but remember they are just doing their job. Get to know each person at the locker, this is helpful when you are in a crunch for time! Use other local businesses, “It builds goodwill in the community.”

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