Wyoming Indian Tribe Selling Beef To Whole Foods

CATHERINE TSAI

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Northern Arapaho Tribe has agreed to sell beef raised on its 595,000 certified organic acres in Wyoming to Whole Foods Market Inc., its first major retail customer.

Panorama Meats Inc. is partnering with the tribe to offer Angus beef from the tribe's Arapaho Ranch on the Wind River Reservation to Whole Foods stores in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Utah.

The agreement offers the tribe $1,400 per head for grass-fed cattle that haven't been in feedlots, or roughly a 25 percent premium to conventional beef, Panorama CEO Mack Graves said Thursday.

Northern Arapaho Business Council Chairman Harvey Spoonhunter said the tribe is looking to supply around 2,500 head a year.

"It really means a lot, especially in a time of economic downturn," Spoonhunter said. Thirty to 40 people work on the ranch in summer, and about 20 work there in the winter, he said. Most are tribal members.

The tribe previously sold meat in conventional markets at auction and to smaller, local markets, but Business Council members said working with Panorama and Whole Foods offers longer-term stability and better prices.