摘要：In the spring of 2000, Mr. Mike McConnell, co-owner of Niman-McConnell, LLC a.k.a.Niman Ranch, a San Francisco Bay area meat processor, had just informed a major customerthat they would have to reduce their next contract for pork loins by at least 50% or raiseprices substantially. Niman Ranch had lost a substantial amount of money on the last contractand did not want to repeat the situation.Niman Ranch supplies upscale restaurants and grocery stores in the San Francisco Bayarea and over the last few years, as far away as New York and Atlanta, with gourmet-qualitybeef, pork, and lamb. Niman Ranch prides itself in offering the highest quality "natural" meatproducts produced from livestock raised on family farms. When it comes to caring for andfeeding the livestock they have contracted, Mike states; "costs are not a consideration,quality is everything." Niman Ranch contracts with family farms to raise their animals in anatural environment without the use of drugs or hormones. In order to compensate the familyfarmers for the more expensive production process Niman Ranch pays more for theselivestock than the going commodity price. Niman Ranch balances this approach by sellingtheir meat products at about a 100% premium over regular meat products. Niman Ranch hasnot experienced a shortage of customers for its loin cuts, despite its pricing policy. Itscustomers almost universally agree the Niman Ranch meats are higher quality, more natural,and tastier than other meats and worth the extra price. Most of the customers also agree withNiman Ranch's philosophy of contracting with family farms and compensating them for theextra costs of raising the animals in a humane manner. In fact Niman Ranch is so committedto the family farm philosophy that Mike likes to say that his company is the processing andmarketing operation for about 100 family farms.
