Safeway to Serve “Colorado Proud” Beef

Cargill and Safeway are collaborating to provide Coloradans with steaks, roasts, stew meat, cube steak and stir fry beef under the supermarket’s Rancher’s Reserve Tender Beef label, with the beef being produced at Cargill’s Fort Morgan processing facility.  Rancher’s Reserve beef products bearing the Colorado Proud logo will be sold in 116 Safeway stores throughout the region.  Developed in 1999 by the Colorado State Department of Agriculture, Colorado Proud is a program to increase awareness about, as well as market, foods produced throughout the state. “We’re delighted to be associated with Safeway’s introduction of Colorado Proud beef products, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of Cargill producing the first Rancher’s Reserve branded meat products,” said Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, assistant vice president and general manager at Fort Morgan.  “The beef we produce here showcases the finest efforts of Colorado’s cattle ranching families and represents the dedication, investment and hard work associated with cattle production that feeds millions of people.” Al Duran, Safeway Denver division president added, “Consumers are increasingly interested in knowing how their food is produced and where it comes from, and we are addressing that desire for information and knowledge through the introduction of Colorado Proud beef.  We listen to our consumers, so when they tell us beef is an important food staple and a reason they shop at our stores, that gets our attention and we focus on delivering safe, nutritious, quality and affordable selections to satisfy the protein requirements for their families.  Now, we can do that with locally raised and processed beef and we’re excited to make these offerings available to Coloradans.” Opened in 1966, the Cargill Beef plant at Fort Morgan has the capacity to harvest 1.2 million head of cattle annually – equating to approximately 600 million pounds of beef – while also employing a diverse workforce of 2,000 Coloradans.  Beef from the facility feeds millions of people throughout the U.S. and numerous countries, including Japan, South Korea, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Canada and the Philippine Islands.  Due to recent energy efficiency improvements and biogas recovery, every fifth head of cattle harvested at Fort Morgan is processed using renewable resources. “This is like my grandmother’s kitchen, or a small-town butcher shop from the past, only we operate on a much larger scale,” explained Johnson-Hoffman.  “We waste very little and use as much as possible from each of the animals we harvest to ensure that we maximize the supply of lean animal protein available to consumers, and that we respect and value the lives of cattle we process for human food.” “We are excited to have Cargill and Safeway as partners in promoting local products through Colorado Proud,” said Commissioner of Agriculture John Salazar.  “The Fort Morgan facility supports Colorado ranching families as well as the state’s economy.”