This past weekend the
Ohio Farm Bureau put on a summer tour for the
Young Ag Professionals. This event really intrigued me because they had many tour options and I felt it would be a great way to network with other members of farm bureau in the state as well as learn about some great places within the state. Our tour stopped at
Scioto Downs, North Market, and
Watershed Distillery.
Our first stop was
Scioto Downs race park. This was pretty interesting to me as I really know little about horses, especially race horses but know a couple people that actually raise harness racing horses so it was neat to make the connection. This is a very busy and dedicated sport. It was very evident that these horses are treated like royalty. Speaking with the trainers and Farrier they take great pride in the horses and the jobs that they do.
We also stopped at
Watershed Distillery which is a craft distillery which makes vodka, gin, and bourbon. It is neat to see these little craft distilleries in your home state that make their main focus to stay and support the state they originated. These guys purchase all of their grains from within the state and do not push to sell a ton outside of the state as Ohio is their main focus. They have sold to markets in New York City and Chicago but only because they came to them! That's pretty cool for a small operation! They have unique tasting spirits and you all need to give them a try!!
My favorite stop of the day was at
Columbus North Market. This market is in the heart of Columbus and provides fresh local foods to the city and surrounding areas. We had the opportunity to sit down with the owners of
Bluescreek Farm Meats
Cheryl and David Smith
Photo courtesy of bluescreekfarmmeats.com
They’re a farm-raised, hardworking couple who have been selling their locally raised meats since 1993. They opened their mom-and-pop shop so they could sell directly to the consumer "because their meat is too good to sell any other way." As you can tell they are very passionate about the meat that they are providing to their customers. They raise their animals the "old fashioned way, like it should be" as they stated. Their animals are raised on a rationed grain diet along with hay. This got the wheels turning in my head and made me wonder.....Do they get many people that come to them looking for organic, grassfed, or gmo free and walk away when they say no?
I was surprised by her answer. She said that over the last 3 years they have really seen an increase in the gmo free, organic, and grassfed question but 90%-95% will still purchase from them even though they don't carry those niche meats. She said that most people just want to know how the animals are raised and that they care about the animals. She commented that they looked into organic a few years ago and the price of grain and then the price they would have to charge their customers just wasn't worth it. Plus the fact that they already feel they have a pretty superior product. If it ain't broke why fix it?
I found this quite interesting. I feel it goes to show that many people may have concerns because they read it on the Internet and hear all this negative info about conventionally raised animals but when it comes down to it, just being able to talk to the people that raise the animals and hearing about the operation is all that the consumer is really after. This is why putting yourself out there for people to talk to you about why you do things they way you do and letting them see into your operation is crucial.
There is a small but very vocal sector out there that is doing its best at fear mongering but I think this just shows that when you are willing to open your doors and show transparency and show you really are just wanting to provide the best quality product out there like the Smith's, people will trust you and your product and keep coming back for more!
Be sure to check out
Bluescreeek Farms Meats both on facebook and their website as they offer classes to help you better understand cuts of meats and sharpen up on your meat knowledge!!
Have a safe and fun 4th of July holiday!!
