Tune-up for Grass-Based Beef Production and Marketing
Date: Friday, January 13th, 2006 
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Allen Williams, the Jacob Alliance, LLC, is a prominent figure in the rapidly expanding grass-fed beef industry. He is consultant to 10 different branded beef programs and more than 400 individual beef producers nationwide. Formerly an animal scientist with Mississippi State University, Williams is founding partner and vice president of The Jacob Alliance LLC, Rose Bud, Arkansas. The company specializes in the use of Beef Imaging Analysis software, an ultrasound scan of live animals to test for various qualities including tenderness.
Williams focuses on genetics that perform best within grass-based systems. In the afternoon session, he offered guidelines in selecting breeding stock for the grass-fed operations, and discussed the use of ultrasound technology to identify animals best suited for grass-based systems.
Williams also is working with several farmer networks to set up marketing alliances for grass-finished beef. He is a member of the leadership team for the Association of Family Farms, a new organization that is committed to working with all participants of the beef value chain.
Williams spoke at the 2006 Annual Meeting and Winter Workshops program sponsored by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Ecology Initiative and Grassland Agriculture Program in collaboration with Practical Farmers of Iowa.
Related information
Niche Beef Marketing: Current Status [PDF]
Natural/Organic Opportunities: Current Status and Future Projections [PDF]
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture |
Ames, Iowa 50011 |
(515) 294-3711 |
leocenter@iastate.edu