Why is buying local meat so important?

A great question. Did you know that there are currently only 4 meat packing conglomerates in the US which control up to 85% of the nation's beef, pork and chicken? This means that most small ranchers must sell to these conglomerates which control price, conditions, technologies, supply and demand. The farmers or rancher is no longer in control of his herd and the way he raises his animals, the price he charges, the food he feeds, the machinery he uses. Those are all determined by these 4 gigantic conglomerates. And sadly, ranchers generally get pennies on the dollar for the sale of their cattle that end up being pumped with antibiotics and vaccines in a feed lot. And while the price paid for cattle continues to decline, the price paid by consumers at the grocery store for the same beef continues to rise. Which makes the big beef business a multi-billion dollar business for these 4 companies.

Not only do the Big 4 control 85% of the beef sales in the US, but they control the supply chain from top to bottom through vertical integration. Packers own “feeder cattle” that they place with ranchers or their own feedlots. And through “forward contracts” and exclusive purchasing agreements, ranchers sell at prearranged prices to the packers, divorced from supply and demand. This creates “captive supply” for the packers, increasing their control over how many cattle they purchase and at what price. The farmers also have to feed specific diets to the animals, oftentimes, grains that are purchased or contracted from the conglomerates, further expanding their control.  

Does this all sound too strange to be true? Search “Big 4 Meat Packers” and you’ll get pages and pages of information documenting this situation.

We need you and you need us.
One of the ways we bring local meat to you – our community – is through our CSA. CSA is Community Supported Agriculture and it is the direct connection between the rancher and the consumer. You are buying more than a “meat box,” you are sharing in the year’s harvest of the freshest and best meat available for you and your family, while protecting your food choices for generations to come. Find out more about joining our CSA here.

Local meat production has never been more important, but we really do need you! We need you to understand how critical it is for local farms and ranches to exist. The fewer choices we have about where we buy our food and what happens to that food before it reaches our tables, the less control we have about our own health and the health of generations to come. And we need you to believe in what we’re doing enough to support local agriculture and to make a difference in the quality, price, value and source of the food you eat.  We are asking you to invest in us so we can continue to invest in you.

All of our beef is grass-fed and grass-finished. Is this important? You bet it is. Read here to see some of the benefits of grass-fed and finished beef.