THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503250102
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JODY SNIDER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
MIKEY AND NICKY are the new birds in town. And they are B-I-G!
They are emus, which stand 6 feet tall, weigh about 125 pounds and lay more than 40 emerald eggs a year. They live on the ``I Am Emu Farm,'' near Lake Cohoon.
Owners Dick and Kathy Burket hope the two become their breeding stock.
Once they get a larger breeding stock developed, in 1996, Kathy Burket hopes to sell other emus for slaughter and foster a new red-meat market in Hampton Roads.
``We have to get across the idea that it's no different to eat an emu than it is to eat a cow, turkey, chicken or deer,'' she said.
Emu meat is dubbed the other red meat, comparable in taste to the very best prime rib and in appearance to good beef, without the fat marbling.
In fact, the world's second-largest living bird compares in leanness to venison, giving it the potential to rival beef in store meat cases.
But, there is one drawback - emu meat sells for $20 per pound in meat shops like the Giant Gourmet Someplace Special shop in McLean. Still, about 20 pounds of emu meat is sold per week, said Bruce Allen, store meat manager.
``People aren't buying it like it's strip steaks, but we have customers who come in each week looking for emu meat,'' he said.
Allen said most people want the meat because of its leanness. Because the demand is still small, the meat comes frozen from the store's supplier.
If emu producers have their way, this Australian bird could also ruffle a few feathers in the chicken and turkey industry, which has dominated the health-conscious market for years.
``Emu meat is lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken or turkey,'' Burket said. ``And the fat that it does have, is not saturated fat - the bad fat.''
And, get this: the American Heart Association is even hawking it as a ``heart-healthy meat'' for the '90s, Burket said.
Nationally, there are about 600,000 emus scattered on small farms throughout the United States, about 400,000 in Texas.
And just when you think you've heard it all, and no bird could do more, there's more.
The birds' lint-free feathers are highly sought by those in the computer market, who use them to dust intricate computer parts. And Burket has discovered another market for the feathers - jewelry. Burket makes earrings and necklaces from emu feathers.
Hides can be tanned and used to make purses, shoes, belts and even clothing.
And the strip of fat that runs down the middle of the big bird's back, producing about seven liters of oil per bird, is used in cosmetics, medical ointments and topical moisturizing creams.
Even ``bad eggs'' have a market. The large, emerald eggs that don't hatch are used as canvases by artists for pictures or etchings.
But it's the good eggs Burket is banking on.
``When we got that first egg,'' Burket said, ``we couldn't have been any happier than if we had had a baby.''
Indeed, Mikey and Nicky are Burket's babies.
``They will never go to slaughter,'' she said. ``And neither will their first-born.''
Burket said Mikey and Nicky have produced about a dozen eggs so far that will each take about 55 days to hatch.
There are many advantages to raising emus instead of cattle: Three dozen emus can be raised on one acre of land, compared to one cow per acre. Feeding costs are also low for emus - about 50 cents per day. And emus can produce as many as 40 chicks a season, compared to a cow that produces one calf.
At Emerald Farms in Chesapeake, the operation is on a larger scale.
``We decided to stake our future on these weird-looking birds,'' said Kelly Smith of Emerald Farms. ``We want to raise as many as we can on our 40-acre farm.''
Husband Kevin said he'd like to have as many as 80 to 100 breeder pairs on his land. But after only a year of operation, he has about 10 pairs.
In a breeders' market, Smith said one bird can sell for as little as $700, or a pair of proven breeders for as much as $10,000. And birds that go to slaughter, with $150 invested in them, could sell for $400.
``But, the breeders' market is over,'' Kevin Smith said. ``We are now starting to get into promoting these birds for slaughter. And we're hoping to get a slaughterhouse going on the Eastern Shore sometime next year.
``Most don't see emu as an agriculture commodity,'' Smith said. ``But, we do.''
``It's the business angle you think about - the financial investment,'' Burket said. ``But, once you get in the business, it becomes an emotional thing as well. It's very rewarding.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
[Color Photo]
Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Kathy Burket is counting oon Mikey the emu to help her and husband,
Dick Burket, turn emu farming into a thriving business.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Kathy Burket hopes to sell emus for slaughter in 1996 and foster a
new red-meat market in Hampton Roads.
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Burket weighs an emu egg very carefully. Even ``bad eggs'' have a
market. The ones that don't hatch are used as canvases by artists.
Kathy Burket makes earrings and necklaces from emu feathers. Emu
hides can be tanned and used to make purses, shoes, belts and even
clothing.
KEYWORDS: EMU by CNB