Entrepreneur Raises Belgian Blue For Lean Beef Market
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
MOUNT JOY (Lancaster Co.)
When Brent Brubaker talks
about his Belgian Blue cattle, his
words tumble over each other in
his enthusiasm for the breed.
‘The genetics produce lean, ten
der beef 40 percent more quickly
than other breeds and 40 percent
leaner,” he said.
While a staunch Holstein sup
porter might think the Belgian
Blue breed appears a bit odd with
its lumpy rumps and bluish black
spots, Brubaker believes the breed
with its Belgian origin is beautiful
and tasty.
In fact, taste with low fat content
is the reason that Brubaker began
raising the breed.
He is convinced that if the fat
content in beef is lowered and the
price is competitive with other
meats, the market for beef will
explode.
BrubaKerprefers that pictures of his cattle be taken from
the rear where the difference is most noticeable between
Belgian Blues and other breeds. The cattle have what Is
referred to as double muscellng.
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Plans for marketing the Belgian
Beef he is raising under the label of
Lancaster Lite Beef arc already in
the final stage.
A forma' 4-H’cr and president
of the county 4-H dairy club, Bru
baker said his heart was always in
farming. He grew up raising beef
and milking cows on his grand
father’s Mount Joy farm, which is
now owned by his father J. Ken
neth Brubaker and an uncle Harold
Brubaker.
He went to college to study
marketing and was graduated two
years ago.- His enthusiam for the
Belgian Blue breed was sparked,
when as a college junior, he visited
his uncle’s farm in Ashboro, N.C.
His uncle raises Belgian Blues for
breeding purposes. He selects
catde from Belgian, which are
imported via England because of
import restrictions.
Brubaker was intrigued that the
breed’s genetics was known to
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Is owned f .™ nt , o, i h ! barn ,hat had been h,s flrandfather's and now
owned by his dad and a uncle, but used by Brent to raise Belgium Blue cattle.
grow 40 percent more rapidly and
produce 40 percent more meat than
Angus, Herefoids, and Continental
breeds.
The lumpy appearance of the
cattle is not fat. but double muscel
ipg. which means more meat when
butchered.
On the rail, the carcass has little
fat cover and there is little
marbeling.
The breed is rare in the U.S., but
growing. Brubaker estimates that
there are about 2,000 scattered
across the states.
“Belgian Blues fatten faster and
are ready to butcher at a younger
age, which makes the breed a more
profitable meat animal than
another breed,” Brubaker said.
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This is a picture of the
steaks that Brent markets
under the label of Lancaster
Lite Beef. Marbeling and fat
cover is less than that of
USOA choice and prime.
“The beef industry wants fat
cover and heavy marbeling to
quality beef, because they think fat
makes beef taste better,” Brubaker
said. “But I can produce steak that
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Lancaster Fannlnfl, Saturday, April 23, 1994-817
will taste as good and tender with
out the fat.”
Because beef is graded by fat
marbling rather than taste, the Bel
gian Blue appears more like a good
grade than choice or prime.
“I can produce steak that is only
graded good under present USDA
standards and it will taste as good
and tender as aprime. The industry
believes quality equals marbeling
and fat, but I say quality equals
tenderness and fat to some
degree,” Brubaker said.
Fat comparisons by a local
laboratory show that a Lancaster
Lite boneless roast has 1.8 grams
of fat and a T-bone steak 2.7 grams
fat compared with 18.2 grams of a
T-bone USDA choice. A whole
skinless chicken has 6.4 grams.
“My target market is females
from 20 to SO who are educated on
health issues,” Brubaker said.
This segment of the population
is less inclined to eat red meat
because of the fat content, but
would be interested in purchasing
beef that is comparable in fat and
price to chicken and fish.
“If it (lean beef) costs too much,
it eliminates the market,” he said.
“To be marketable, it must have
these four qualitities lean, taste,
high quality, and the right price.”
Brubaker believes his beef is the
solution. While other segments of
the industry are experimenting
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