818-L*ncastsr Fanning, Saturday, April 23, 1994
Entrepreneur Raises Belgian Blue For Lean Beef Market
(Continued from Pago B 17)
with raising lean beef at lower
costs, Brubaker believes that Bel
gian Blue cattle gives an edge.
“They grow faster and have more
meat on the carcass than other
breeds.”
Brubaker brags that his steaks
can be cut with a fork.
The secret, he says, is in grow
ing young bulls and butchering
them at 10 to 12 months of age.
“I know people don’t like the
thought of eating bull meat They
think it is tough and has an odd
taste,” Brubaker said. “But studies
show that bulli produce much
leaner meat and if butchered
young, the meat is tender. The odd
flavor is the result of improper
handling and butchering.”
Generally steers are finished for
the market and killed about 18
months of age. A bull at that age
would result in tough meat.
When Brubaker first began
experimenting with Belgian Blues,
he purchased a Holstein herd,
planning to milk the cows and to
inseminate them with Belgian
Blue stock. But the process toward
developing the meat proved too
slow.
“You only have a 50 percent
chance on getting a bull calf once a
year,” he said. “So now I collect
semen from the bull and sell it to
farmers for $S with a contract that
promises that I will buy back all
healthy calves male and female
for $2OO when bom and fed
colostrum.”
Female calves are sold since
they grow more body fat When
bull calves are turned into steers, it
not only removes the hormones
that cause them to be tamer, but
also the growth hormones. For that
reason Brubaker doesn’t want to
turn his bulls into steers.
Brubaker feeds the bulls a
vertically-intergrated diet of com
md grass.
He keeps precise records. He
las a computer program to tract
narkets, feeding, and the fat con
ent results.
In Belgian, calves are taken by
;-section because they have a ten
dancy to get stuck in the birth canal
ramp due to the extra muscling of
Top Pennsylvania DHIA Cows By Breed For March
AYRSHIRE
Barn
Naie
Fan Naie
PNIZGIG
BIRDEYE
VANNA
N-FOOIN
HROSLIE
DALLAS
CAVEVN
APR-VUE
IVYLOU
L-NOMAD
CMPM
MOHACA
PBO
ABDROSSAN FARMS
ASDROSSAN FAUNS
C C & HAROLD C RADER
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ASDROSSAN FARMS
PLDH-BOTTOH FARM
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
PLUM-BOTTOM FARM
CHARLES-DON GABLE
PLUM-BOTTOM FARM
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
PLUM-BOTTOM FARM
CHARLESfDEBRA YOUNG
PLUM-BOTTOM FARM
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
ARDROSSAN FARMS
HOHLOV
BR TREE
THSLE
GEMRROS
ROMO
H FAITH
B PEARL
N-RO6E
LOV VUE
BETTING
T-ROSE
TRYKATE
Belgian Blue cows. By cross
breeding with Holstein cows, birth
problems have been eliminated,
Brubaker said.
The bull that Brubaker uses for
his own stock was bom in Belgian
and imported from England. It was
chosen for producing offspring
that are in the 70- to 90-pound
weight range and have correct
legs.
Brubaker grew up as the son ofa
doctor who was concerned about
the fat content in beef. “Then we
only had beef about four times a
year, but now, my dad is my big
gest fan of what I’m doing and we
eat it five times a week,” Brubaker
said.
“Some care more about health
than taste, but 1 think health and
taste are equally important,” Bra
baker said.
He distributes much of his meat
to the medical community. His
marketing stragedy is to offer sam
ples to grocery stores, institutions,
and restaurants.
Brubaker says that most of those
who taste his beef believe the taste
is equal to a prime rib. A few die
hards who believe fat must be pre
sent for flavor and prefer to eat fat
are skeptical.
One, a retired-butcher, automati
cally dismissed the idea of lean
meat being flavorable by saying,
“No waste, no taste. Lean meat is
terrible.”
But Brubaker shrugs off that cri
ticism as a preconceived out-of
date belief.
“The guy has had two triple
bypasses,” he said.
Brubaker believes the educated
consumer will choose meat with
less fat because it is more healthful
eating.
“You can eat two of my burgers
for lunch and two more for supper,
and still have IS fat calories to eat
on other food,” he said.
In his search for a meat packer
who does a quality job and vaccum
packs, Brubaker chose John F.
Martin, butcher.
To preserve the flavor and juici
ness, the meat is vaccum packed
and frozen immediately.
Of some concern to Brubaker is
the fact that the meat appears dark
The top protein producing cows in Pennsylvania DHIA Herds for
March are listed by breed as follows:
Age 1-Actual Production
Yr-Mo Milk Prot ProtFat Fat
Lbs 1 Lbs 1 Lbs
05-11 29763 3.1 934 4.2 1249
05-04 25035 3.6 913 4.4 1111
05-06 24022 3.7 888 4.0 959
07-09 24761 3.4 845 3.9 958
03- 25190 3.3 826 3.5 879
04- 25215 3.2 816 4.1 1023
05- 24977 3.3 815 3.9 980
07-05 25059 3.2 811 3.7 934
05- 24007 3.4 805 4.3 1043
07-06 24492 3.3 800 4.3 1041
06- 23669 3.4 796 3.6 841
05-05 23666 3.3 787 4.0 938
03- 20440 3.8 776 3T.9 794
04- 23196 3.3 773 3.4 783
03- 22754 3.4 767 3.9 898
05- 21994 3.5 762 3.7 814
05-08 19426 3.9 761 4.3 841
07- 23539 3.2 760 3.6 854
04- 25475 3.0 758 3.5 891
03-05 24353 3.1 758 3.9 938
07-04 23487 3.2 757 4.3 1005
03-04 24053 3.1 755 4.1 987
03-03 22770 3.3 747 4.1 925
07-03 22229 3.3 744 4.2 934
07-08 23936 3.1 742 3.9 932
On the right is a Belgian Blue bull used for breeding purposes. The two offspring on
the right have been crossed with Holstelns.
red when processed by this
method When meat is exposed to
oxygen, it turns a bright red, which
seems to be more eye appealing to
customers. If the meat is removed
from the sealed bag and exposed to
the air, it will also turn a bright red.
Brubaker’s concern is that the
average consumer will be less
inclined to pick up the meat
because of the preconceived idea
that it should be bright red.
Because the carcass does not
have the normal covering of fat,
the beef is shrouded to prevent
moisture loss during aging the beef
for nine to 10 days. Brubaker
said that it costs $3OO for the
USDA tests to certify that his beef
is 90 percent lean. Now. he needs
$5,000 to design a package and a
certified label.
While Brubaker has had poten
tial investors offer money that
would enable his marketing of
Lancaster Lite Beef to move at a
faster pace, Brubaker declined. “I
can think better when I’m poor,”
he said.
He wants to thoroughly examine
every aspect of the breeding, rais
ing, butchering, and marketing
process.
“Those with more money can
GUERNSEY
Fan Naie
Barn Age
Naie 1 Yr-Mo
TROTACRE FARM
LISETER FARM
ROTTER BROS
FAVA BROS
RONELLA FARMS
TROTACRE FARM
ROTTER BROS
LYLE+LADRFEK WRIGHT
JOHN HCffiRON
JOHN MORROW
JOHN MORROW
TROTACRE FARM
TROTACRE FARM
AXEL LIKDE+M WIDKARN
AXEL LIHDE+M WIONAW
AXEL LIHDE+K WIOKAHR
XANAOD GUERNSEYS
TROTACRE FARM
CEDAR FRINGED FA»I
AIRY VIEW FARMS
TROTACRE FARM
KATHLEEN S BERBER
TROTACRE FARM
XANAOD GUERNSEYS
LYLE+LADREEM WRIGHT
Brent Brubaker demonstrates cutting a steak with a fork.
Steaks, he said, are tender and Juicy from young beef of Bel
gian Blue.
afford to make mistakes. I can’t If
I do it myself, it forces me to mim
ize expenses, to think through each
step before acting on it.
“Whenever I solve a problem, I
•■Actual Production
Milk Prot Prot Fat Fat
Us t Lbs I Lbs
26376 3.2 909 3.9 1110
25001 3.5 887 4.5 1134
24451 3.5 849 4.3 1047
25261 3.3 843 3.9 977
27820 3.0 826 2.5 706
23635 3.4 801 3.5 834
23013 3.3 764 3.9 894
20460 3.7 756 4.5 919
24132 3.1 754 i.l 994
22212 3.4 749 4.4 971
23100 3.2 745 3.4 789
21812 3.4 739 4.3 935
23481 3.1 736 3.5 818
21680 3.4 733 4.3 928
20800 3.5 733 4.1 856
20720 3.5 726 4.7 973
21011 3.4 717 4.5 944
19840 3.6 716 4.2 829
20660 3.5 714 4.4 901
19741 3.6 712 4.8 939
19787 3.6 709 4.4 878
21156 3.3 707 3.9 822
21476 3.3 705 4.6 992
20406 3.5 705 3.9 790
20777 3.4 703 4.5 938
Fan Naie
Roram GOLDEN HOL /LEA
KEYSTONE FARM SHANNON
CARL A FARMS INC PEPPER
ANDREW D STOLTZFUS SPRINT
ROB6DONNA VANBURCOH 66
MEYERS BROS DAIRY 729
KEYSTONE FARM LESA
FREDERICK FARMS 64
FREDERICK FARMS (9
KEYSTONE FARM
TIMOTHY R PEACHEY
KARL MILLER
FREDERICK FARMS
BABBIE
808
266
THUS t DAVID RISSER 50
GLENN B GOCKLEY 87
JAMES 0 DUNN r.rrmi
MEADOW SPRING BQLSIM 1
VINCENT A NAGMER
NOAH B SHARP JR
JAKES D DOW
JABS SODICHK
BLNOOO FASH
WITH Via FAB map
EXCELSIOR FAM-FLBB mbmbi
BAOOH SPRING HOLST* 13
PEARL
COKEY
DELIGHT
love it,” Brubaker said. “But the
next step is always terrifying to
__ _ it
me.
His goal is to market the beef
under the Lancaster Lite label
within a year.
HOLSTEIN
-Actual Production
Milk Prot ProtPat Pat
lbs % Lbs I Uis
37612 3.3 1243 3.2 1204
38973 3.2 1238 3.4 1314
40502 3.1 1236 3.2 1278
38552 3.2 1227 3.4 1309
39749 3.0 1200 3.1 1239
36018 3.3 1196 3.5 1274
38430 3.1 1183 3.9 1499
35311 3.3 1181 4.3 1508
35791 3.3 1172 4.1 1458
33792 3.4 1157 3.8 1271
33501 3.4 1153 3.7 1252
33506 3.4 1153 1.8 598
40581 2.8 1151 2.8 1130
36747 3.1 1150 4.0 1488
38025 3.0 1150 2.0 762
47793 2.4 1149 4.1 1965
39609 2.9 1137 2.9 1155
37976 3.0 1136 3.2 1213
33588 3.4 1136 3.3 1095
33239 3.4 1136 3.4 1130
36991 3.1 1134 2.6 958
33304 3.4 1132 3.9 1293
35069 3.2 1130 2.9 1023
33809 3.3 1128. 3.1 1052
36962 3.0 1127 2.9 1081
Barn
law
Age
Yr-Ho