By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

FRANKFORT, Ky. — As admired as the Kentucky Proud (KP) marketing program is, a new initiative is rolling out in a big way, with a statewide distribution network for KP products that seeks to make the brand even more popular.

The project involves three established food distributors – Critchfield Meats of Lexington, Brown Foodservice of Louisa and Southern Foods of Bowling Green – which have a combined 160 years of experience.  The three have the capacity to bring KP products to the vast majority of the state, something that has been a task in the past.

“This network addresses a longstanding challenge in the growth of Kentucky Proud,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “I’m grateful to these three Kentucky-based distributors for making it possible for Kentucky producers to find markets for their meat and dairy products.”

The new venture has its start with a call from PM Beef in Minnesota, a domestic and international supplier of beef, to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) inquiring about the cattle industry in the state, as well as Kentucky Proud. Upon proposing a pilot project for Kentucky Proud beef, the ball started rolling.

Critchfield and Alltech, a leader in the animal health and nutrition field, had started looking at the possibility of staring a KP line of Angus beef. With its involvement, Alltech would supply the food for this choice line of beef and Critchfield would partner with Brown Foodservice and Southern Foods to move the goods.

“I think we finally have a shot at fixing the issue of the distribution roadblock for products going to foodservice and retail outside of the Golden Triangle,” said Bill Clary, spokesman for KDA.

That “Golden Triangle” is an area from the central part of the state that extends to the Ohio border and includes the major metropolitan areas of Louisville, Lexington and Covington-Cincinnati.

“One of the challenges for KP companies has been that it’s really been difficult for them to compete on distribution in a cost-competitive way over the years,” said Clary. “The beef line is exciting, but the thing that really excites me is the ability to move other products all over the state.”

The beef products could indeed be just the beginning, according to Clary. “These distributors are what we call ‘broadline distributors,’ so they handle a lot of different products. They’ll be handling pork, lamb, dairy products, and some shelf-stable items,” he said.
Thus far there are 70 producers on board raising the KP beef line, according to CPH45 standards. When the cattle reach a certain age, those producers have the option to keep their animals or send them to the stockyard. Once sold, they are taken to a feedlot in Iowa for finishing on Alltech food, then on to PM Beef for processing, and then back to Kentucky.

“This is the first time a Kentucky Proud meat initiative has been able to operate at this sort of volume,” said Clary. “We have some people doing a great job as niche operators, but this is the first project we have done with this kind of volume that would be competitive in the commodity market. This could mean big support for cattle farmers in the state.”

Kentucky already stands as the number one cattle-producing state east of the Mississippi. For Alltech, this has been a good fit with its years of research into food supplements for animal agriculture. Alltech Spokesman Billy Frey noted that with products such as Sel-Plex, the company has seen an improvement in antioxidant status.

This means the meat is better and it helps to retain key characteristics such as color and flavor.

“Alltech is excited to work with Critchfield’s to offer a high-quality steak that is produced right here in Kentucky,” he said. “Kentucky farmers produce some of the best food in the world, and we hope Alltech Angus, a Kentucky Proud product, helps Kentucky beef become as revered around the world as our Thoroughbreds and our bourbon.”

Mark Critchfield, vice president of Critchfield Meats, said he would not move anything that wasn’t top quality and price competitive, and the KP beef line is both.

“First and foremost, it has to be a quality product, because we want to sell quality products. The good thing about the beef is, it’s the first program for foodservice that KP has been constant quality, enough of a supply and competitively priced,” he said.

“We can compete with any high-end Angus program in the United States and we can trace it back to Kentucky farmers and have a farm impact. As this grows, we’ll be adding more and more Kentucky-made items, and now that we have put the network together, we can get it in all four corners of the state.”

Critchfield said they are getting in 40 head of cattle a week, but he hopes to grow it to 400. “Even if it didn’t have the KP label on it, I’d be proud to sell it, it’s that good,” he said.

The program is new but already shows great potential. To help with marketing, a $125,000 grant from the KP program will be used for promotional items such as point-of-purchase signage, truck wraps and advertising, according to the KDA.