Indiana Beef Gets Federal Grade
04/24/2008
by Gary Truitt
On Thursday, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed into law a measure that will give Indiana cattlemen a new market opportunity. The new law allows the Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH) to apply federal-grading standards at state inspected processing plants. This will allow Hoosier cattle producers to sell federally graded meat at local restaurants. “This is really important for Indiana beef producers,” said Julia Wickard, Executive Director of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association (IBCA). “It is important from a value-added opportunity, a niche market opportunity, and from an economic development opportunity.”
Andy Boston, a cattle producer from Orange County, came up with the idea after he was barred from selling his beef to local hotels and casinos in French Lick because his beef did not have a USDA grade. “They wanted to buy a local product, but, because we could not get a federal grade, we were locked out,” he told HAT.
The bill which had a rocky ride through the General Assembly, had the strong support of State Veterinarian Dr. Brent Marsh. State meat inspectors will now be able to apply a USDA federal grade to all meat they inspect. Boston said this will allow more producers to sell more Indiana beef locally, “We are not talking about commodity beef but high quality Indiana beef that commands a high price.” He said having the federal grade will encourage more producers to seek out local markets and be more aggressive in merchandizing their product. More and more restaurants and grocery stores are seeking a source of locally produced beef, and this new program will help producers meet that demand.
The BOAH will administer the program, and Dr. Marsh said it will take about a year to get the system operational. Following the signing of the bill, a group of Indiana cattlemen celebrated at an Indianapolis restaurant that serves Indiana beef.