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St. Catharine
Farm and a group called Kentucky's Choice Homegrown Beef were featured in
the June, 2004 summer issue of Southern Farmer. Danny Ray Spalding,
Farm Manager of St. Catharine Farm, has proven in a very short time that
there is a market for hormone-free, antibiotic-free beef in
Kentucky. St. Catharine Farm, a 700 acre crop and beef operation is
located in the rolling hills of Washington County. Danny started
supplying the residents of St. Catharine Motherhouse with hormone-free,
antibiotic free beef about 16t years ago. Cattle are raised on St.
Catharine Farm from birth through feedlot, to the processing plant.
Danny knows where they came from and that they are fed what has been
produced on the farm. In 2002 he started providing the beef for St.
Catharine College students (750). It became evident that he could no
longer meet the demand. He approached Rick Greenwell from the
Extension Office and together they found other farmers in the area that
could and world produce the same type of hormone and antibiotic free beef
with crops grown on their own farms. Their combined herd numbers
around 320 cattle. The farmers making up the group are Jeff Settles,
Roger Wilkerson, T.R, and Janice Smith all of Springfield and Ray and
Matthew Johnson of Lebanon. The cattle will weigh anywhere from 1,00
to 1200 pounds and must grade USDA Choice to be included in their
program. News of this type of beef spread quickly and the demand has
grown rapidly in the tri-county area of Washington, Nelson and Bullitt
counties. Danny is so confident of his beef that when he serves it
he gives you a plastic knife and fork to use. Kentucky Heritage
Meats in Louisville, Kentucky and operated by John Medley markets the beef
in his store. This has increased the demand in the Louisville
area. To promote their beef they have been the food providers at
several large gatherings of organizations. Among these are: Davis on
the Highlands Bull Sale, Future Farmers of America, St. Catharine Golf
Tournament. Word not only of their beef but also their grilling and
cooking skills spread and now some of the local factories who want to
provide something special for their employees will hire the group to put
on the meal. This has proven to be a wonderful marketing tool. They
hope that the group will expand but the farmer must be willing to produce
the beef according to the set standards. This venture did not just
happen over night. A great deal of study and research went into it.
The help of the Extension Office of Washington County, The University of
Kentucky College of Agriculture played important roles. Danny worked
with a UK beef specialist on a special feeding program called intensive
grazing for eight years and then with another specialist on meat
cuts. The group has been a help to the farmers who had been former
producers of tobacco. They hope that their business will grow to
such an extent that they will no longer have to rely on tobacco as their
cash crop. Getting this beef business off the ground was one they
used tobacco settlement money as they looked for ways to replace the
income lost with tobacco. Rick Greenwell says, "We are trying
to offer them a buffet of things. It use to be you took your cattle
tot he stockyard, but that's not good enough anymore. You've got to
really think outside the box and get in there and hustle around if you
want to stay in farming today. You've got to form alliances,
cooperatives, partnerships. It's hard to make it by yourself
anymore." For more information contact Danny Ray Spalding at
336-0444 (article adapted
from Southern Farmer)
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