Kentucky producers raise and sell beef close to home

This spring, 85 Kroger locations throughout Kentucky will roll out a new line of locally sourced, harvested, packaged and produced ground beef. Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef is an 80 percent lean product, available in both 1-pound packages of ground beef and 2-pound packages of four half-pound beef patties. Inspected by the USDA and certified by the Global Food Safety Initiative, it’s fresh, natural and minimally processed, with no additives or preservatives. “You don’t have to drive very far outside the city limits to get to the rural, green, wide-open spaces of Kentucky … and cows out in those pastures,” said Becky Thompson, director of the Kentucky Beef Network, an outlet of the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association. “So they [consumers] can relate and they feel a lot more pride and a part of that process.” Thompson said the new venture has been able to “to connect the dots to create a local, Kentucky supply chain.” Participating beef producers must meet a Gold Standard of Care, which ensures proper care and handling. — WLJ