Let’s Celabrate a Win!

Cattle prices are at an all time high. I know consumers don’t think that is a win for them at the meat counter, let’s talk about that.

When independent producers are getting a fair price for their products it helps strengthen domestic food security, and helps rural areas thrive.

The US has lost over 200,000 ranchers and farmer in the last ten years. This is due in large part because of a profit margin that is so thin some years you can't see it at all. With every small farm lost consumers without knowing it become more dependent on foreign imports and large corporations. These corporations are often owned by foreign countries that don’t share our values, or have our best interests in mind.

So why should it matter to you if rural areas are thriving? Because this is where your food comes from. These are the towns and communities that feed the US. Rural America depends on a healthy AG industry to survive. We can’t have a sustainable domestic food system without these rural communities, and producers in rural communities can’t survive without fair markets and a healthy bottom line.

When you drive through rural towns and you see shops and restaurants open, feed stores, hardware, and lumber, schools and hospitals there is a industry there that is helping it survive. Unfortunately there are so many small towns with boarded up businesses. These are the towns you know just by driving through them have lost the industry that was driving them.

An interesting study from OSU found that 76% of sales by local producers will stay in their local economy. I believe this stat is fairly accurate. If I stop and think about the local businesses we depend on for fuel, utilities, trucking, repairs and supplies, construction, seed, vet, and the list goes on. These are local businesses that benefit indirectly from a healthy cattle market, and they in turn take a portion of that same dollar and spend it again locally. This is what creates a healthy local economy. This same study sited that with imported food only twenty eight cents per dollar spent would stay in the local economy. Again that is interesting, and highlights the importance of domestic producers.

I know consumers are just wanting to feed their families without breaking the bank, but the cost can’t be the US producer. Consumers have an investment in this market that goes far beyond the price at the meat counter. It is a big picture investment. Know that when you are supporting US producers you are helping to secure our domestic food supply, and strengthening rural America. A win for producers is also a win for the consumer. We can never be dependent on other countries to feed us.