Mountain State Ground Beef Now Available

Herald Dispach

BY: Fred Pace

09.22.22

MOUNTAIN STATE GROUND BEEF NOW AVAILABLE: With demand for locally raised meat surging in recent years, a new program in West Virginia is working with local farming families to increase consumer access.

Mountain State Ground Beef is sourcing cattle from West Virginia beef farmers. “From a beef farmer’s perspective, having a direct market for West Virginia cattle benefits all beef farmers in West Virginia. Mountain State Ground Beef also benefits grocery shoppers statewide to access local ground beef. We are excited to introduce local beef farmers to grocery shoppers in their communities — which is an overall goal of this partnership,” said Todd Meckley, a cattle farmer in Sistersville, West Virginia.

Mountain State Ground Beef is a brand partnership between West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association and Appalachian Abattoir, a division of Buzz Products. West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association is a membership organization for the 11,000 beef cattle farmers in the state of West Virginia. The association sources cattle for the partnership from farm families across the Mountain State.

Appalachian Abattoir, a newly constructed meat processing facility in Charleston, is the ground beef processor. The parent company, Buzz Products, will distribute Mountain State Ground Beef. “The growing interest in and demand for locally raised meat has been apparent for years. The high quality of cattle that are raised in West Virginia is well known, but a lack of processing infrastructure has meant that most farmers have had little choice but to send their animals to the Midwest for processing. Between our new facility and our motivated partners at the WV Cattlemen’s Association, we have developed a plan where we can keep more West Virginia cattle here in the state,” said Dickinson Gould, president of Buzz Products and Appalachian Abattoir. “We hope to satisfy local consumers, bring better financial results for local farmers and create new job opportunities in meat production.

The ground beef is now available at 116 Par Mar and 10 FoodFair locations throughout West Virginia. Two products are available: a one-pound package of fresh ground beef and a one-pound package of three fresh ground beef patties. Also, 10 FoodFair locations in Ohio and Kentucky will carry Mountain State Ground Beef.