Government Can't Save the Rancher, We Must Save Ourselves
By Jennifer Hill
Old habits die hard, and sometimes in agriculture it seems like they are even more challenging to kill. The generation that came before us was heavily invested in the idea that government will fix us. Boomers love calling their senators and representatives. I’m not sure if it’s the pleasure of feeling a part of the system or having smoke blown up their butts that does it for them, but whatever it is they have spent the last 50 years absolutely sure that engaging our politicians is how we fix our problems.
We have a mess in the beef industry. Our own consumers are being priced out of our end game product while the downstream producers are being economically driven out of business, all while the major packing plants reap record high profits. This isn’t a new problem, but the economic struggle brought on by arbitrary COVID regulations has certainly magnified the issue. Despite the fact that we know government is to blame for many of our woes and that politicians will always bow to the biggest donor, despite the last 100 years of the Packers and Stockyards Act failing to permanently fix industry disparities, the beef world is still packed full of producers lecturing other producers that they must get active with their elected officials if they want to save their way of life. “Call and tell them,” they say. “Make our voices heard!” But the reality is our voice is almost infinitesimal in grand scheme of things. As agricultural producers we lack the numbers and the trust funds to force politicians into listening.
But it’s not all a black pill. In fact, there are a few bright spots of exciting ideas and entrepreneurial ranchers with plans to take a small swipe at the problems.
If you turned on the national news two weeks ago (not that I’d ever recommend it) you saw Sustainable Beef making the rounds. Major media outlets including AP News, Daily Caller and the NY Post all ran with the story about Sustainable Beef in North Platte, Nebraska and their plan to improve the heavily skewed beef market by building a rancher owned packing plant in the heart of beef country. A group of private investors with stake in the industry got together and worked the system. Interestingly leadership behind the plant even includes several former Cargill Executives. Once opened in 2023 the plant will feature an 1,100 head/day kill capacity. Not enough to take down the big four but enough to provide area ranchers with another viable option, all without begging Big Brother to rescue us. If this plan proves successful and replicable similar systems could pop-up all-over feeder country, and that could have a real impact.
Daylight Burners may remember the May 18th episode which featured an interview with Trey Wasserburger, a key player in the plant. If you missed that episode, go back and take a listen. It’ll give you a little hope for our industry.
Another small but valuable way to diversify operations and spread out income sources is through direct to consumer sales. This area of the beef industry has seen big growth in the last decade and the combination of grocery shortages during the height of COVID lockdowns and increasing retail prices has created almost frenzied like growth in this sector in the last two years. The task of feeding out, marketing and selling the final product seems daunting at first but in reality, it’s a great way to cut out the middle man, make a little extra profit and connect with consumers while telling “our story”. Like many others, our operation dipped our toes in during the spring of 2020 when the local community was desperate for meat, and the success of the enterprise surprised us all. While selling halves and wholes a few times a year was ok, the real profit and success came from selling ground beef. With me delivering ground out of the back of the truck like a crack dealer we consistently sold out so fast that I had a hard time keeping any in inventory. Do my two dozen head a year significantly impact the Big Four? Of course not. But they do puff up by bottom line a tiny bit and have definitely proven to be the most impactful way to get the beef message out to consumers. While making deliveries and talking to customers they often ask about our process and our struggles. Some of them take to social media in support of ranchers and beef producers in ways they otherwise would not have engaged in. By purchasing from someone local they feel a connection to our industry in a way that no pamphlet from Check Off could ever do.
Yes, we have problems. Big ones. The disparity between sectors is huge and the future of the industry is in a frightening place. But to survive what lies ahead we need to focus on creating our own solutions, one small piece at a time. If history teaches us anything, and it should, we know that sweeping legislation and reform may be packaged pretty and sound great at the gate but in the long run the Big Four and their army of lawyers and accountants will find ways to protect themselves from harm and in another decade or two we’ll be right back at this point. Real, lasting change must come from the small actions of real producers taking their future in their hands, not begging Big Brother for a Band-Aid.
