Meat quality starts on the farm … and takes hard work!

Hi, my name is April Wolf. I have been with We R Food Safety! for almost six years. I started as a data input specialist, then moved on to new client management; now I am mostly involved in the accounting side of things.

My background is not food safety. However, my husband is a herd manager for a 2,000-plus dairy farm, my kids show animals for our 4-H club and we have our own show cattle business, Pure Pride Show Cattle, so I know the hard work and dedication it takes to produce cattle at the top of the line. My husband, Deric, is the brains of the operation, as the cattle business is his passion. Mating, diet rations, cattle comfort and care — this is what he does (and he does it all) to produce the best quality cattle. I am simply along for the ride and to help in the barn. 

I have come a long way from the girl that did not grow up on a farm. Who knew cattle needed baths, haircuts, manicures and hair drying? Or a cup of this grain, not that grain — and not just hay? How about straw, sand or sawdust for bedding, not just the ground? Take them for walks? That definitely sounds silly, but it really is what our show cattle business is about.

Our heifers get different bedding depending on the weather. They have special diets after they are weaned from milk to help their bodies develop in certain ways so when they are on the show floor, they show the best. Our heifers get washed (baths), clipped (haircuts), hoof trimming (manicures) and blow outs (hair drying) during show season and picture days. Yes … they get professional pictures taken. And yes, they are put on halters and taken for walks. Not like a dog on a leash, but they are walked in the yard so they get comfortable outside of the barn and learn how to walk and set up on a halter for show days. It really all circles back to cow care and comfort so they can be the best of their breed.

My three boys show beef and swine for 4-H, and this is the exact process they follow with their show animals. Some people think it is crazy, and I did too, when I first met Deric. But these same animals shown at the fairs are purchased there and processed at local slaughter businesses, after which they fill up your freezer and taste delicious because they had excellent care during their lives.

— April Wolf, april.wolf@werfoodsafety.com

The challenges of beef production/processing from the eyes of a family farmer

Hello, my name is Nancee Emmerich, and I am relatively new to the We R Food Safety! team, having started in November as Food Safety and Quality Program Coordinator. My business career has revolved around customer service and client relations, but my life skills have been honed by helping my husband, Steve, with the ownership and operation of our Wisconsin family farm. In my contribution to this blog, I’d like to tell you about our family farm and how the daily focus on details, quality assurance and food safety parallel the vision and mission at We R Food Safety. I may not always write about the farm, but I hope the insights I can bring to you from the producer side of the equation will help you perform better in your business.

Steve Emmerich (Nancee's husband) displays a small 
gold calf gift that was sent to the family by a visitor 
from India who was impressed with the cattle operation 
at Emmerich Family Farms.

Emmerich Family Farms, Inc. was founded in 1873 by my husband’s great-great-great-grandfather, who came to the U.S. from Germany, like so many in this area of central Wisconsin. Our youngest son is the 6th generation of Emmerichs who learned many life lessons on the farm and as a member of our local 4-H club by showing steers and goats at the county fair.

Through the years, our farm has evolved from a dairy farm to a significantly diversified operation featuring a 500-head cattle feedlot, a purebred Angus herd, corn and soybean acreage and also a maple syrup sugar bush with 5,000 trees.

Of course, animal welfare and quality assurance are crucial to our operation and ultimately the meat and food we produce. For us, food safety begins on the farm with proper animal-welfare practices. We keep our animals clean and calm, and always use veterinarian-prescribed vaccinations and treatments; and we administer these products at the correct sites on the animal.

Once the animals are ready for processing, however, we face additional challenges. Finding custom-processing plants — let alone facilities that do a high-quality job we can trust — to handle our direct-to-consumer beef sales is a big challenge, because a very large number of custom processors have gone out of business or been acquired in the last five years. As a result, we currently have to schedule animals for harvest at least 12 to 18 months in advance.

The maple syrup processing operation at Emmerich Family Farms.

There are always challenges to be met on the farm. High capital and labor costs, market uncertainty and low profit margins along with unpredictable weather all add up to a high-risk adventure. But it is an adventure that we love!

By paying attention to the details and always striving for the highest quality product, whether it be market steers or maple syrup, we hope to sustain the farm for the next generation.

— Nancee Emmerich, Food Safety and Quality Program Coordinator, nancee@werfoodsafety.com