09/09/2026
🥩 WHY CAN BIG BEEF SELL HAMBURGER CHEAPER THAN YOUR LOCAL FARMER?
That's a fair question.
If you see ground beef at the grocery store for less than locally raised and processed beef, it doesn't necessarily mean your local farmer is making a big profit.
The two systems are completely different.
🐂 THE LOCAL BEEF DOLLAR
Let's use $8.00/lb local ground beef as an example.
Before that package ever reaches your table, somebody has to pay for:
🌱 Raising the cow
🐂 Breeding & producing the calf
🌾 Pasture, hay & feed
💉 Animal health & minerals
🚜 Tractors, equipment & fuel
🔨 Fencing & farm maintenance
🐄 Growing or finishing the animal
🚚 Transportation
🥩 USDA-inspected processing
📦 Packaging & labeling
❄️ Freezer & storage
💵 Marketing & selling the beef
And don't forget the farmer's LAND, LABOR, INTEREST, WEATHER RISK and DEATH LOSS.
Now compare that with a major beef processor.
🏭 BIG BEEF HAS SOMETHING THE LOCAL FARMER DOESN'T HAVE: SCALE.
They process enormous numbers of cattle.
They spread labor, equipment, refrigeration, packaging and overhead across millions of pounds of beef.
They sell steaks, roasts, briskets, trim and other products from the carcass.
They can also capture value from hides, fats, bones and other by-products.
And ground beef itself can be manufactured by blending lean and fatty beef to produce a consistent product.
That makes their cost per pound much different from a farmer taking a few cattle to a local processor.
🇺🇸 SO WHY PAY MORE FOR LOCAL BEEF?
Because you're buying something different.
You can know:
🐂 WHO raised it.
🌱 WHERE it was raised.
🥩 WHERE it was processed.
👨🌾 WHO your purchase supports.
Your local farmer probably isn't going to beat a billion-dollar beef company on volume.
But Big Beef can't beat your local farmer on LOCAL.
When you buy local beef, more of those dollars stay right here — supporting farmers, processors, employees and families in our own communities.
🥩 KNOW YOUR FARMER.
KNOW YOUR PROCESSOR.
KNOW YOUR BEEF.
🇺🇸 BUY LOCAL BEEF. SUPPORT LOCAL AGRICULTURE.
