Local Producer: Tarheel Beef Co.

One of my favorite people at the Farmers' Market is Ron Koster of Tarheel Beef. To be honest, for the first month or so of my regular FM shopping trips, I basically ignored him. Not maliciously, it's just that I'm not a beef eater myself, and since I make the menu, I pretty much just passed him on by in search of some veggies. That all changed when we had out-of-town company, and Sal wanted to cook up something "special." Special to Sal almost always means meat - when I'm out of town I suspect that his diet consists mostly of ribs, burgers and chicken wings. Anyway, once we stopped by Tarheel Beef and got to know Ron, Sal makes it a point to drop by every week and at least check out what he's got on special.

Since I'm pretty clueless about different kinds of beef, I asked Ron to answer a couple of questions for me about his company, and how the beef is raised. Like I said, I don't eat beef, but I don't have a social objection to eating it, if the cow has been given a humane and decent life to live while it's on the earth. Unlike Tarheel Beef's product, most, if not all, of the meat that is available at the larger chain grocery stores is from CAFOs (or CFOs) - Confined Animal Feeding Operations, also known as Factory Farms. There are thousands of people out there who could explain a CAFO better than me, so I'll let them. You can get a head start on Farm Aid's website.

Here are Ron's answers to my questions - I'm a far cry from a journalist, but he was a good sport and humored me anyway. Stop by and say hi to Ron next time you're at the Market - he's a great storyteller...

1. You seem to know a LOT about beef! When did you get into the cattle business?

I got into the cattle business by accident a hobby that grew and got out of hand. Seven years ago my son called me up and said he had leased some land near Commerce Texas and had purchased 4 bovine pairs ( a pair is a cow with a calf at her side), giving us 8 animals. He said he knew I enjoyed riding and knew I had always wanted to have a small ranch. He said, "How about it?" and I said "I'm in." So I started a hobby. We attended Auction Barn sales in the area and acquired more animals that we thought were good, young stock and moreover were pregnant and ready to deliver calves in a relatively short period of time.

We had acquired by this time some 1000+ acres of scrub range land and pasture where the animals were set free after receiving the required vaccinations, ear tags, branding, etc. We have 6 ponds on our property that supply the animals with plenty of clean water.

2. What's different about the way that you raise your cows as compared to larger CAFOs?

We have cleared about half the land and planted crops of rye grass, oats, clover etc. Unlike the CFO's we do not confine our animals in large dirt pens and feed them regimented grains, growth hormones fillers etc. Every late winter I select and bring aprrox. 15 to 18 weaned Angus cross-breed calf's weighing approx 300 to 375 lbs to some leased pastureland in the Greensboro area. We put them out to pasture for approximately a year on fresh green grass and water. For the last approx 120 days we grain feed the animal to create the marbling effect in the meat (which gives you the flavor and taste you desire in a good cut of meat.)

We now after seven years have what is called a commercial cow calf operation. We no longer buy unknown stock and now have on our ranch some registered Angus breeding stock with superior blood lines and endeavor to raise the best cross breed animals we can. We have on average about two hundred and fifty cows and calves on the three different locations at any one time.

3. How often do you process meat? Where is the processing done?

We process no more than one or two animals a month and only one at a time. They are processed at a Federal monitored USDA plant in Siler City. NC. The split carcasses are hung in a controlled atmosphere of 33 to 38 degrees at low humidity for a minuim of 21 days to a maximum of 35 days. During this period known as the dry aging process the meat begins to break down the cell walls naturally tenderizing the meat and forming a jerky type covering on the meat. After the aging process is complete the meat is cut to specifications and the hard jerky coating is discarded which approx.results in a 20% loss of yield because of shrinkage. You sacrifice yield or volume for tenderness and taste.

4. If you were stranded on a desert island with only a grill, what type of beef would you want to have with you?

If I was stranded on a desert Island and only had a grill I would take any steak cut (filet, t-bone, porthouse, rib-eye, NY Strip etc.) Sirloin Tip, eye round or London broil for that matter would make a great roast on a spit, and nothing beats a Cowboy Steak (Rib-eye with the bone-in)!

5. Anything else you'd like us to know about Tarheel Beef?

Tar Heel Beef is a family run business. As of now we only sell at the Riverfront Farmers Market on Saturdays between 8:00 AM and 12:30PM and Poplar Grove Market on RT17 on Wednesdays Between 8:00AM and 1:00PM. We also deliver for free in the Greater Wilmington Area for orders over $125.00. We use no Hormones, additives, fillers, dyes or preservatives. Our meat is all natural.

Photo: Ron Koster and one of his handy little helpers at the Riverfront Farmers Market.