“Agriculture is my passion.”
This statement encompasses a wide-ranging interview with Benjamin Stutman, owner of Paizlee’s Grass Fed Beef in Southern Utah.
The national meat industry is currently dominated by four major packing companies that provide their products at low cost to consumers because hamburger is just hamburger. Stutman’s response is to sell a healthier product at a lower margin to attract a broader base of customers.
This, in turn, promotes more ag jobs, which he sees as being able to coexist with tourism to create a stable economic basis for rural small towns.
For Stutman, he strives for his farm to champion flavor of the meat, tradition and sustainability. “It’s a lot less stressful to cows when you are herding them by horseback than whipping around in an ATV.” He also believes you have to understand the land you are on instead of superimposing some business model.
Utah is a tough place to farm since there are so many variables for weather and water. “You just got to love it,” he says.
