FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, June 18, 2007
CONTACT: Shannon Kulseth, 773-3724
SOUTH DAKOTA CERTIFIED ENROLLED CATTLE™ Natural Program launched
Pierre, SD – South Dakota cattle producers have another option for marketing their South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ now that the state has launched the South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ Natural Program, according to Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Even.
“This is a logical step for us to take as we continue to find new markets for our South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™,” Even said. “The global natural and organic food markets experienced double-digit growth the past two years and the expected growth rate for 2007/2008 should exceed 15 percent each year. There is no question that natural and organic products are now a true market segment and not simply a niche or fad,” he added.
A high demand and short supply of “naturally raised” cattle is causing many producers to consider natural branded beef programs as marketing alternatives. “The Natural extensions of the South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ and South Dakota Certified™ Beef programs were created to offer South Dakota producers and processors yet another tool for marketing their cattle in a non-commodity fashion,” Even said
In developing these programs, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development consulted with many industry experts, physiologists, beef specialists, foreign market representatives, and private consultants to determine the most relevant and marketable requirements. As with the original South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ program, the credibility that third-party auditing and verification by a government entity provides is one major advantage of these programs.
South Dakota Certified™ Natural Beef is produced from cattle that are enrolled in the South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ Natural program. These cattle are raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones in addition to many other strict production protocols. The beef product is also guaranteed to be minimally processed and contain no artificial colors or flavors.
For more information on South Dakota Certified™ Natural Beef or the South Dakota Certified Enrolled Cattle™ Natural program, contact the South Dakota Department of Agriculture at 1-800-228-5254.
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