First quarter for Marin Sun Farms: High marks, higher prices

With talk of 'creating a more sustainable food system,' Point Reyes rancher David Evans had high hopes when he took over the Petaluma slaughterhouse formerly known as Rancho Feeding Corp. The purchase of the facility by Marin Sun Farms was seen as a way to complete the circle of his company's services from ranchers to butchers to grass-fed restaurateurs; but it has also eliminated some services that local ranchers depended on.

Nonetheless, Evans' vision was rewarded recently when he was named Outstanding North Bay Rancher by the Sonoma County Fair Board, an award he will receive on Farmer's Day at the fair on Sunday, July 27.

But skepticism from dairy ranchers — who worried that Evans' high standards for meat would exclude their non-producing milk cows from being processed in Petaluma — appears to have been warranted. And overall, the days of operation for the slaughterhouse have been substantially reduced.

This is largely because the Marin Sun Farms business model is quite different than Rancho's. The slaughterhouse no longer buys dairy animals for the commodity market to sell to companies such as Hot Pockets and Jack in the Box, both of which had products in Rancho's massive 8.7 million pound beef recall earlier this year. Instead, Marin Sun Farms focuses on custom processing of private-label meats, helping area ranchers bring their beef (and other meats) to market by offering harvesting rates and services.

'For the majority of people in the local cattle industry, Marin Sun Farms is not a direct replacement for Rancho,' said Jim Mickelson of Sonoma Mountain Herefords. 'It fills a different need.'

Ranchers who want to sell their stock into the commodity market now face a long drive to the Central Valley instead of the local outlet that Rancho offered. Marin Sun Farms slaughterhouse is reportedly in operation only one day a week. Some cattle ranchers have complained off the record that Marin Sun Farms has significantly higher prices, likely because the slaughterhouse is not supplementing its income on the commodities market, as Rancho had. Marin Sun Farms refused comment for this article.

Yet the ranchers who do use the Marin Sun Farms slaughterhouse are almost universal in their praise for the new operation. 'There's absolutely no complaint in the quality of the services,' said Mike Gale of Chileno Valley Ranch, one of several grass-fed cattle ranchers in the pastures west of Petaluma.

Doniga Markegard, another grass-fed beef producer with ranches in Sonoma and San Mateo counties, agreed. 'I'm really happy with them,' she said. 'They got their services and permits in place and were able to reopen. They were able to keep their staff, and good customer service.'

Markegard was concerned that Marin Sun Farms would raise the price per service, and admits that while the cost did go up, when factoring in the alternative expense of transporting the cattle to a Central Valley slaughterhouse, 'It's a wash.'

Although the cost of the slaughtering service itself — called 'kill fees' in the trade — is apparently comparable to Rancho's, Marin Sun Farms has higher costs for processing organs and other esoteric parts such as tail, tongue and cheeks, which used to be included in the basic slaughter fee, according to one rancher.

Marin Sun Farms also charges extra for delivery to non-affiliated processors, such as cut and wrap butchers. Delivery to local cut and wrap vendors is charged at $25 per head, while using the company's own San Francisco processing plant is free. But the resulting quality of its cut-and-wrap butchering, and the customer service that goes with it, again receive high marks from those who have used Marin Sun Farms through the full chain of services.

'You want to make sure the animals are treated well,' said Tara Smith of Tara Firma Farms, 'and you get back the cuts you ask for.' On those counts Smith and several other area ranchers, both beef and dairy, have been quite satisfied.

'In the long run, I'm glad somebody stepped up and bought that plant,' said Doug Beretta of Santa Rosa's Beretta Dairy. 'If it wasn't there we wouldn't have that option.'

(Contact Christian Kallen at argus@arguscourier.com)