Local food movement boost local butchers' business

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Interest in buying locally produced food appears to be sending more people to butcher shops across the nation.

Industry officials say they don't have exact numbers, but most butchers are doing well.

John Brooks Jr. says business at his family's 88-year-old butcher shot in Des Moines has doubled in the past five years. He says more people seem interested that all the beef he butchers is raised in central Iowa.

The executive director of the American Association of Meat Processors says many butchers also are doing well because there are fewer now than decades ago and those that are left are serving a niche market. For example, some serve farmers who need carcasses butchered so they can sell meat privately. Others have added specialty products or services.