“My wife and I owned a farm in Monkton,” Burchell recalls. “I was getting antsy after retirement, but I didn’t want to cut the grass.” A few cows—and then a lot more cows—later, Burchell wound up in the cattle-raising business. In 1999, Roseda Beef (named from Rose, Ed, and Ed’s middle initial) was established as an offshoot of Burchell’s cattle-raising operation.
Today, Roseda Beef sells directly to consumers through its website, and also to local markets such as the Graul’s grocery chain, Roots Market in Clarksville, and area restaurants like Woodberry Kitchen, Watertable at the Renaissance Hotel in Harborplace, and the Manor Tavern in Monkton.
What makes Roseda’s products unique, says Burchell, is the careful attention paid to breeding (only the best breeding stock is used); an antibiotic- and hormone-free diet; and dry aging for 14-21 days to ensure a “beefier” flavor and a more tender cut.
Burchell adds that another of Roseda’s claims to fame is the “consistent eating experience” it offers. “Every one of our cattle is managed in exactly the same way, so ever y time you eat one of our products, you will enjoy the same beefy flavor.
“If I don’t get a ‘wow’ from our customers, I’m disappointed,” he says.
When Burchell started selling his beef, he had 56 head of black Angus cattle. Today, the number is 2,000, and the company is earning $2.5 to $3 million in revenues. But Burchell doesn’t have plans to grow the business—at least from the standpoint of the herd size—any larger. “I don’t want to compromise the quality we have now,” he explains.
Burchell laughs when asked how different life is now from his days as a corporate executive. “I’m having a lot of fun,” he says. “And I enjoy producing a local product.”
Indeed, in this health-conscious society (does the recent tomato scare ring a bell?), Burchell thinks consumers really want to know where their food is coming from.
And for customers who have had to tighten their shopping belt in these economic times, Burchell says the
company’s steakburgers—one of its most popular products—offer a great opportunity to have a “steak-like eating experience” on a limited budget.
“I’m very proud of what we do,” says the exec-turned-cattle breeder. “I think we’re one of the better-kept secrets in Maryland.”
With luck, though, not for long.
For more information on Roseda Beef, call 410-329-3068 or visit www.rosedabeef.com.
(Link here to RACHEL’S
HOME STYLE
CHUCK ROAST)
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