WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. - A cooperative of five ranchers is selling beef under the "Whidbey Island Grown" brand. The ranchers have an exclusive deal with The Goose Community Grocer in Langley. It's still too soon to tell if the idea will turn a profit, but ranchers say it's an investment in the future.
"We are going to exceed our supply here rapidly if it really works," says rancher Leland Long. "We are trying to show people in the neighborhood what grass fed beef is and that we can do this locally."
The Northwest Agriculture Business Center is facilitating the program, which is one of the first in Washington state.
Over the years, it's become difficult for ranchers to get their beef on local store shelves. The co-op gives the ranchers production power to help make that happen.
Larry Hooker, store manager at The Goose Community Grocer, says the locally grown beef is a hit.
"This is exactly what people are asking for," says Hooker. "It's premium meat and the cows were raised just a few miles away."
The animals are naturally grown and grass fed. Consumers pay more per pound, but ranchers are saving on other costs. Rather than shipping the cattle around the country, the animals are slaughtered at a plant in Bow then brought straight the grocer in Langley.
"It's essentially eliminating the middle man," says Long. "We are barely breaking even now, but when more people buy local, we can inch up the price. It's a win-win situation, really,"
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