Grassfarmer well said! Thank you for your acknowledgment. It's a long row to hoe and while it seems like we have been at this for a long time, so far it remains a challenge. You have given this topic a lot of thought and as you say niche marketing, unlike commodity marketing, does not rely on economy of scale for it's viability. Not that there are no efficiencies to gain, but if that were the main focus you would quickly be back on the commodity track. The focus has to be competing on quality not on price. The reality of direct marketing from pasture to plate - with all of the associated costs that become the responsibility of the owners - is that it becomes very difficult once established and functioning to include other producers except strictly as producers/suppliers. At which point, as Grassfarmer pointed out, the benefit to them will be reduced to a moderate premium at best. One of the larger health food stores that we sell to told us that the average lifespan of direct marketing enterprises ( family farm based) is 11 months - this is because of all of the challenges associated with vertically integrating all aspects of the business: finishing, slaughter, understanding meat cutting to accurately determine yields and pricing, marketing, storage, distribution and delivery, financing and accounts receivable. Once a business has gone through the effort to become educated, established and viable the opportunity for cooperation is limited. The best opportunity for cooperation in direct marketing efforts that will allow all players to benefit on an equal footing is at the beginning where all players are equally involved and personally invested in the project.
