UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Because many Pennsylvania beef producers have identified a growing customer base for grass-fed beef, Penn State Cooperative Extension will hold two workshops in the eastern part of the state to discuss the production and economics of grass-fed beef.

The workshops will be held on Feb. 28 at the Brandywine Fire Hall in Brandywine, Chester County, and on March 13 at the Columbia County Extension Center in Bloomsburg. Speakers will address production, processing, labeling, diet and health issues, and economics of grass-fed beef, and will include a panel of farmers currently producing and marketing grass-fed beef.

"Grass-fed beef differs from mainstream retail beef because it is fed primarily with grass instead of high grain diets," says John Comerford, associate professor of dairy and animal science and beef cattle coordinator. "Customers of grass-fed beef cite perceived advantages in nutritional value, leanness and local, family farm production."

Comerford says the workshops will avoid the rhetoric associated with comparisons between grain-fed and grass-fed beef. "There are customers who are health conscious and want natural-type beef," says Comerford. "They want to buy it locally and know where it comes from. The workshops are intended to educate producers with the facts about their product, some of the legal issues associated with labeling and processing, and some of the stark realities of the economics of both production and marketing."

For more information about the Chester County program, contact Cheryl Fairbairn at 610-696-3500. For information about the Columbia County program, contact Dave Hartman at 570-784-6660.

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EDITORS: Contact John Comerford at 814-863-3661 or by e-mail at jxc16@psu.edu.

Jeff Mulhollem Office 814-863-2719 FAX 814-863-9877