Northeast Nebraska Farmers is a group of nine farmers from Cedar, Dixon, Madison, Pierce, and Stanton counties. They began to meet in 1995 with a common interest in grasslands, environmental stewardship, and how rotational grazing could be used to increase profits and improve their land. Marvin DeBlauw of Hartington joined the Northeast Nebraska Farmers to "help with a project that will create a profitable and environmentally safe way to farm."
During the first year, three of the group’s members tried different methods of grazing stream banks. Their goal was to find a way to stabilize the stream banks and improve water quality while still using the water for livestock. At several times during the season they monitored the water quality and aquatic life of the streams. Stream width and depth were measured and pictures were taken for before and after comparisons. The farmers found that closely managed rotational grazing does not degrade stream banks or water quality.
Other first year individual projects included tracking soil and forage quality in rotationally grazed pastures, interseeding hairy vetch into corn, interseeding alfalfa into a brome pasture, and grazing corn intercropped with soybeans.
Group member Paul Phelps of Cedar County compared different methods of weed control for establishment of shelterbelt trees. He wanted to find an alternative to expensive plastic mulch. Wool mulch, cultivation and a herbicide spray were compared. Phelps also set up a demonstration of nine native grasses to show that they can be productive in this region. The grasses were big and little bluestem, Indian grass, sideoats grama, sand dropseed, buffalograss, western wheatgrass, blue grama and switchgrass. This demonstration is ongoing
In 1996, the entire group decided to develop an organization for direct marketing of meat. This eventually became Nebraska Natural Meats, which now sells beef, chicken, lamb, duck, pork, and buffalo meat directly to the public. The "Natural" part of the name comes from the way the livestock is raised. The cattle and buffalo are raised on grass with optional feeding of grain if the customer desires. Hogs are raised in open lots or open-air facilities and the chickens are allowed access to pasture. No drugs or hormones are used. This way of raising livestock reduces inputs by the farmers, returns animal wastes to the soil, and produces lean, healthy animals.
Group members took many steps before launching their business. They learned the basics from an experienced direct meat marketer from Missouri. They also found out about the appropriate health regulations, the available markets, and honed their networking skills. An advertising brochure was created and distributed. Several farmers held field days at their farms to re-establish the consumer/farmer connection and to build their customer base. Group member Betty Henzler became the contact person for the meat sales.
Now, after nearly two years of selling Nebraska Natural Meats, the group has some experience of their own to share. They found that neither free samples nor newspaper ads sell meat. Personal contact has, in their experience, worked the best, and their "call back" strategy after a sale has built customer loyalty.
The group believes that both farmers and consumers benefit from direct marketing. Farmers can increase their profit by eliminating the middlemen. The consumer pays competitive prices and knows where and how the fresh meat was produced. The product is produced and consumed locally, reducing processing and transportation costs.
What they are doing, says DeBlauw, is "getting people to try a good quality product." The group has been pleased with their progress so far. Future plans are to expand their customer base and to promote the benefits of buying meat in large quantities. They also plan to improve their grazing management skills and conservation efforts on their farms.
Contact: Marvin DeBlauw, Hartington, 402-254-3429