Episode 216: Regional Meat Economies

Christophe Hille, Fleisher’s Meat’s CFO, and Kathleen Harris of Northeast Livestock Processing Service Company join Erin Fairbanks for another episode of The Farm Report. Kathleen works with farmers to help market their products and also aids in process facilitation. She believes consumers should be aware of the meat they purchase and encourages them to get in touch with their local farmers or ensure that the business they deal with communicates directly with the local farmers. That’s where Christophe’s company comes in. Fleisher’s Meats was founded in 2004. Inspired by traditional butcher shops, Fleisher’s offers meats that are free of hormones and antibiotics. Their products are sourced locally and, thus, support the local agricultural economy. He also gives insight on how to develop and sustain business. This program was brought to you by White Oak Pastures. “…Because we are owned and operated by a board of directors, who are all famers, who have an altruistic attitude about serving their fellow farmers, we do not market in areas where they can market for themselves. We only market in areas that are probably too big for them to do on their own…” [06:00] “…you see more women in agriculture, you see different ethnicities involved in agriculture, it is not just the way it used to be and what’s happened with that, is their enjoyment of grass based farming and all the things that go with that and producing a more natural, less chemical dependent type of type of product and those are the farmers that we’re working with…” [15:00] “…there’s an issue of scale in all these businesses and people need to understand scale. Scale isn’t necessarily something that is always the larger industry’s fault.” [20:00] Christophe Hille & Kathleen Harris on the Farm ReportSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.