Natural Valley Farms Value Chain

REGINA - Feb 6/06 - SNS -- Natural Valley Farms is a perfect example of a value chain in agriculture -- something where farmers organize themselves to take advantage of value added marketing opportunities for what they produce.

The Wolseley-based enterprise has recently accessed some $19,050 of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food's (SAF) research dollars through the Agriculture Development Fund (ADF ##035;20040602) to come up with a way to add value to cattle over 30 months of age that aren't eligible for export—and they are well on their way to succeeding.

Beef cattle producer Dave Fiddler is one of the founders of Natural Valley Farms.

"We are working toward making sure that our producers can recoup a little more out of these animals," he says. "We have taken a portion of beef that, on a younger animal, would normally be made into steaks, and—in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Food Centre in Saskatoon —developed a process whereby the meat is treated with a natural tenderizer and flavor enhancer.

"We use canola oil and other natural products to infuse moisture and flavor into these products. The result is a marinated steak that is very flavorful. It is a frozen product, targeting the hotel and restaurant trade. They will be our focus market as we move forward."

According to Fiddler and his colleagues, this is an important development for the company.

"As a producer, I am very excited," he says. "I look at any opportunity to add value and further process products here in Saskatchewan , so it is not just our producers who benefit from adding value, it's also our local economy. The product that normally comes out of this region is commodity beef. What we are doing is new; we are adding value to a low-value product. This will be one of the many products we will develop."

Natural Valley Farms has already produced some pilot products, and Fiddler says they are currently working on refining the process, "so that we iron the kinks out of it and we will soon come to the marketplace. We will develop a variety of flavors, but it is a long road and we still have a lot of work to do before we are ready to take these products to the marketplace."

Is this a groundbreaking initiative for the beef industry?

Fiddler says it is.

"This exact recipe has never been done before, and nothing like this has been done on such a large scale in Saskatchewan. The most significant thing is we are adding value to an animal that, at this point in time, has minimal value because of our closed borders."

Fiddler believes the consequences of the project will be very favorable for the food sector.

"There is a market for this product because it provides restaurateurs with a quality product at a reasonable price."

Natural Valley Farms was started by producers. It is owned by producers through a producer group.

"Ultimately we operate in the total value chain for all our products," he says. "We are looking to benefit our producers, the provincial economy and the whole beef industry wherever we can."