Food University

Sharla Mortimer will tell you, "Oh, it's a great place to raise a family. You know, that's one of our.that's one of the reasons we're here is because we really identified with our farming background and our family history in farming and we really wanted to give the kids that experience as well."

Sharla's talking about Arizona's Ash Creek Ranch where she lives with her husband Gary and their four young children. They run 400 head of cattle on a 25 thousand acre ranch north of Phoenix. It's a herd that's growing in size to meet a growing demand for grass fed beef. Sharla and Gary both come from farming backgrounds and have a successful nursery business. But ranching for them is a new venture.

Gary Mortimer is one of a growing number of young farmers and ranchers breathing new life into what used to be common place in the heartland-getting consumers to buy the label 'locally grown'." Ask him why and he'll tell you, "Well, I think that one of the main reasons is because if it's locally grown you're supporting the local economy where if it's grown out of the state or out of the country that money is leaving your area." Sharla adds, "Also consumers are more confident when they know where their product is grown. Who's growing it? Where it comes from. How that product is being handled and produced and know that we're working under laws that are governed here in the United States."

The Mortimers raise Black Angus on land largely leased from the government. They sell their packaged beef directly to consumers who buy it online. For small producers like this, the challenge is always in reaching additional customers. One solution? Something called "Food University". Held at various locations across the country, these agriculture-focused events bring together ranchers, farmers and chefs. Consumers join the party - paying an entrance fee to see, smell and taste the bounty of locally raised foods. This event in Arizona featured commodities from more than 150 producers in the state.

Richard Gore directs the "Food University" offerings, "Before I got into the food game, I didn't know the difference between a great tomato and a bad tomato. What I didn't know was how impressive the farming community was. And the ingredients here are great. So hopefully the people here locally know about it. And what's at their fingertips. My guess is that they don't really know what's here and we're hoping to educate them." The Mortimers joined dozens of other Arizona producers for the event...giving visitors samples of their specialties. Gary did some cooking, "So you don't have a lot of outer fat. You have a lot of intramuscular marbling. That gives you the juiciness and the flavor."

In addition to meeting local farmers and ranchers face-to-face, participants get hands-on instruction in culinary workshops conducted by professional chefs. Traveling from seminar to seminar you'll hear things like, "You don't use bad ingredients. Every chef will tell you the better the ingredients the better the dish." "This is soft polenta with a pan-fried piece of pork loin with a little brown butter caper sauce." "Everybody likes crispy skin on a chicken, don't they?"

For professional cook Michael Murray, Food U provided a refresher course. "I'm picking up some pointers, and I'm having a great time. This is chicken thighs with a red wine reduction finished with butter and fresh cream right here from our dairies in Arizona." Events like this have grown in popularity in communities across the country..... Providing potential customers to local producers like the Mortimers and giving consumers reasons to "shop locally" for the foods to be prepared in their kitchens.

Head 'em up, Move 'em out!
Ranching large herds of cattle is said to have begun in Spain and came to the Americas with the conquistadors in the 16th century. New York's Deep Hollow Ranch claims to be the oldest in the United States, dating back to 1658. But it was the wide open spaces of the American West that sparked a boom in ranching. And barbed wire used to reign in those big herds was invented in DeKalb, Illinois in 1865.