Commercial Poultry

A Marketing Decision Tool and Guide for Grass-fed Beef is a resource guide that will assist grass-fed beef producers in formulating profitable marketing strategies. It is a decision tool to assist individual producers in making marketing decisions about what to produce; where/how/in what venue(s) outlets to market their product; and practical risk management strategies. This publication will help beef producers evaluate their individual operation on six factors that are barriers to entering a market - finding a niche, determining products and prices, meeting regulatory constraints, promoting and distributing prouducts, selling product, and managing risks. The guide is written in sections with decision making worksheets that can help producers identify their “best fit” grass-fed beef marketing opportunities. Individual producers can use the articles and resources that follow the decision worksheets to address possible barriers or lost opportunities within specific marketing venues. The information in this booklet is for educational use. It was written by Ginger S. Myers, Marketing Specialist, University of Maryland Extension and Director of the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center. Publication of this workbook was made possible through support from the Jorgensen Foundation and the University of Maryland’s Department of Animal and Avian Sciences.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) offers a voluntary certification program, in which participants are permitted to sell their poultry and rabbits anywhere intrastate (within the state) to restaurants and retailers. An additional license from DHMH (Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene) or local health department is required to sell at Farmers’ Markets.