News stories tagged with "meat"

(07/19/10) Hot and spicy was the order of the day at the Lake Placid 5th annual I Love Barbecue Festival to benefit the Shipman Youth Center. Competitors braved high temperatures for three days as they cooked up some delicious meat. Sarah Harris visited the festival, sampled delectable barbecued chicken and has our story.

(07/16/10) Mostly gone are the days of the neighborhood butcher. They may never come back. They've been replaced by vast meat processing plants putting out shrink-wrapped cuts for supermarkets. But foodies and locavores are fueling a demand for meat raised, killed, and butchered closer to home. The problem in the North Country and much of the Northeast is there aren't enough slaughterhouses or meat cutters. David Sommerstein visited New York's only certification course for the next generation of butchers. more

(03/31/10) The "buy and eat local" movement continues to grow. In at least one instance, it's struggling with success. More people are eating local beef, lamb, and other meats for health, safety and economic reasons. And more farmers are raising the animals. But in between consumer and producer, there's a shortage of slaughterhouses. Local abattoirs used to dot the North Country landscape. But consolidation in the food industry and onerous USDA regulations have pushed many out of business. Another problem is a lack of skilled meat cutters. In part two of a series on the slaughterhouse shortage, David Sommerstein reports. more

(03/30/10) Tonight, local beef, lamb, and pork farmers are gathering at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Canton to discuss a problem that they're happy to have. Increased interest in local grass-fed and free range meat has created a shortage of slaughterhouses in the North Country and across the Northeast. There are only three USDA-certified abattoirs in northern New York, two in St. Lawrence County and one near Saratoga Springs. As David Sommerstein reports, meat processors see a big opportunity and a big risk.

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County is hosting a meeting tonight at 7 to discuss the shortage of slaughterhouse facilities in the region.

One note to this story: bison farmer Dale Healey is retiring, but he says it had nothing to do with the slaughterhouse shortage. more

(02/11/10) Drive through almost any hamlet or four corners in the North Country, and you will likely see a shuttered family grocer. The little shops were once the hub of gossip and community activity, as well as shopping for essentials, before they were eclipsed by chains of gas station convenience stores. A man in Jefferson County is reviving his family's grocery store in Pamelia Corners. In the process, he's giving local farmers an outlet for their products in the cold months between farmers' markets. David Sommerstein reports. more

(03/18/09) Starting this week, supermarkets are officially required to tell you where some of your meat and produce comes from. But as Rebecca Williams reports, it can get confusing at the store.

(07/10/08) Some cutting edge farmers are stepping away from concentrating on only production of meat and milk on their farms. They're starting to focus on ways to give their animals healthy, long lives. And they're finding more benefits than they ever imagined. Kinna Ohman reports.

(04/23/08) When it comes to healthy, environmentally-friendly eating, "local" has become the new "organic." More and more people want to know what's in their food, who produced it, and how far it traveled to get to the dinner table. Community Supported Agriculture, or CSAs, are a growing way to bring consumers and farmers closer. Think of a CSA as a subscription service for food. A farm in St. Lawrence County is just as comfortable marketing its CSA on the Internet as at the local farmers' market. As David Sommerstein reports, The 8 O'Clock Ranch is challenging what it means to "eat local."

(11/16/07) A New York City-based firm is pushing ahead on a project that would combine a massive feedlot with alternative energy in St. Lawrence County. Bion Environmental Technologies touts an environmentally friendly way to raise 84,000 beef cattle and produce ethanol in the process. The project would be the first of its kind in the country. Many community leaders see the $200 million project as an economic boon and an environmental model. But a growing number of critics say the "green" promises are too good to believe. David Sommerstein reports.

(09/10/07) For several years, agriculture officials in New York have been pushing hard to make the connection between Upstate farms and downstate markets. A Jefferson County farmer has launched his own effort. Steve Winkler of Lucky Seven Livestock in Rodman has created a new label called "Certified Natural New York." He's distributing pork, lamb, beef, and chicken from 40 farms around the state, including about a dozen in northern New York, to stores like Wegmans and Whole Foods in metropolitan areas. Winkler told David Sommerstein "Certified Natural New York" ensures meats are produced under certain guidelines.