Why is Beef so Expensive?

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January 31, 2026

Part of our mission here at Red Hill Harvest is to ensure you are one of the most educated food eaters in the world! It is important for you to know what’s happening before your food hits your table so you can truly understand the impact you are making by choosing to eat it. Today, I want to talk a little bit about what is happening in the cattle production in the U.S. and really the whole world. More importantly, what you can expect going forward!

The conviction to write this blog post comes in response to a Tyson Foods slaughter facility closing its doors after 36 years in south-central Nebraska.

Is this a big deal?

No, probably not so much for you, but it is a significant indicator of the status of one of our nation's top-produced proteins.

As I’m sure you're aware, prices for beef, the delicious meat that comes from our 4 legged friends, the cow, have skyrocketed in the grocery store. To understand what’s going on, let's first examine how the larger cattle industry works in the U.S.

Farm 1: Cow-Calf - This is the place where baby cows are brought into the world. Oftentimes, on a ranch in wide open prairies, giving moms access to grass and relatively cheap feed. Once the calves reach about 6 months old, they are weaned from their moms and sold to the next phase of cattle production.

Farm 2: Stocker - Once calves reach the stocker phase of production, they are returned to pasture, where they eat grass and are often fed a small amount of grain supplements to support growth. This step can be skipped, but it is most often used to bring animals to a size large enough to enter the feedlot.

Farm 3: Feedlot - Animals often reach the feedlot when they are about one year old. They stay here for a few months, during which their main job is to eat, sleep, and gain as much weight as possible as quickly as possible. This is often a highly intensive process where cattle are fed a specific ration designed by “experts”. By this point in the process, the animals are either owned or forward-contracted to packers or slaughterhouses. This point will come up a little later in our discussion, so take note of it. They stay here until they reach their mature weight and are then sent to the butcher.

Now that we have a basic understanding of beef farming principles, we can better determine what caused this plant to shut down abruptly.

We first need to look at the industry as a pipeline. The constant flow of cattle in and out of Cow-Calf farms, to stocker farms, and then in and out of feedlots, represents the water. It is crucial that both ends of the pipe are constantly flowing because it takes a minimum of 24 months from conception or breeding to the time when a cow is mature enough to be slaughtered. If any point in the process is delayed, it will trigger a ripple effect that runs all the way back through the system, and it will take years to resolve.

In 2020, we faced our first blockage: a little pandemic called COVID-19 swept across our nation. The lockdown caused the processing facilities to temporarily shut down and forced the fragile system to back up. Feedlots were forced to hold their cows for much longer than expected, causing A) more economic strain (feed) and B) strain on the stocker and cow-calf farms. Since the feedlots were too full, they were forced to hold onto their animals and fill up their pastures.

Paired with the multi-year drought in the west, it was the perfect storm of disruption, causing mass chaos. The easiest way to stop, or at least slow, the ramifications of a blocked pipeline is to stop the flow into the pipe. That’s just what the Ranchers did!

Cow-calf operations bred a much lower number of momma cows in 2020 and 2021. This seemed to be the simplest solution, given the significant backlog of cattle not moving through the pipeline.

The only problem is that once the plug at the bottom of the pipe opened (slaughter facilities reopened), there were no calves to replace the stockyards and feedlots.

Since it takes a minimum of 20 months to get a cow to even hit the feedlot once you decide to breed the mom cows (9 months gestation plus 12 months of stocking), it takes a really long time to refill that pipe. As I said before, the drought didn't help the issue one bit. With the lack of grass, feed prices skyrocketed, making it more difficult to source feed for the cattle. In some cases, feed wasn’t just expensive, it was impossible to find.

The combination of drought, plus the slowdown of processing, forced cow-calf farmers to cull (or slaughter) their momma cows. Thus making the problem even worse! Now it will take longer for the young heifers just born to reach an age where they can be bred. Let only the extra 20 months to raise a newborn calf. It could take up to 3 ½ years to start a herd from nothing until you can slaughter your first cow.

What did we do to fix it? Well, nothing really. All of the farmers knew it was a big problem. The large companies that held forward contracts and cattle in the feed yard could keep costs lower for the first couple of months (since the price was already set), but going forward, the lack of feeder cattle entering the feed lots was evident. According to basic supply-and-demand economics, the price of cattle going into the feedyards skyrocketed. Causing the price to increase the whole way down the line to what you see now when you go to the store.

The ranchers who held on through the drought and uncertain times are now doing what they can to fix the problem. It looks like the number of cows bred and calving in 2026 is significantly higher than in previous years. This should be very positive and will help us to rebuild the herd size and potentially lower beef prices in the store. However, we will not be able to totally undo the damage.

What we thought was a safe, stable beef market was quickly exposed over the course of a few months by a short blip in one part of the industry. This served as a real wake-up call for producers and processors alike about the fragile system we currently have.

How can we fix the system to reduce volatility?

It’s a tough answer. Folks have been working hard in D.C. to improve legislation or give more money to farmers and ranchers, but it never seems to solve any of the problems. I believe our problem is consolidation. The beef industry is now controlled by a few hands. The number of ranchers and farmers in America has been on a steady decline since the mid 1900’s. At its peak, America had over 1.3 million ranches; only about 625,000 remain. We’re not eating any less beef; it's just being produced by fewer people.

The bigger problem is in the processing. It used to be that there was a butcher just about in every town, or sometimes two or three! Each would process the animals raised by farmers in the surrounding countryside. Grandpa often talks about how someone would help them process 3-4 beef cattle per year on the farm, and they would sell it to their market customers. Many farmers and longtime residents in our area can recall a very similar story. So why is it now that the vast majority of butchering is happening by about 12 plants each, which process over 1,000,000 head of cattle every year?

Consolidation. The industrial revolution provided some incredible efficiencies in transportation and production for the beef industry. Beef could now be shipped across the country fairly simply. The only problem? It was expensive. Which meant only wealthy families could invest in the new practices.

Although expensive, the efficiency it delivered was unmatched, and they quickly leveraged it to grow their operations. Small butchers held on, though, because they still had a customer base that appreciated the service they provided. However, they could not expect what was about to happen next.

In 1993, Jack in the Box, a large-scale processing facility, turned out product with E. Coli, killing 4 children, and causing 700 to be very ill. This created a significant push to regulate and closely monitor beef processing.

It wasn’t an insurmountable mountain for the big guys who could offset the costs of the inspection and hassle over the course of 1,000,000 animals every year. For the little guy who was processing maybe 100-1,000 animals every year, it was a nightmare. Their cost per head increased by almost 25%! The biggest problem is that the regulations just keep piling on.

Because they handle thousands of animals per day, large processors need to employ many people. Each of which probably (just taking an educated guess) doesn’t care as much about turning out a high-quality product as the small butcher who actually owns the business and is relying on it to feed his or her family.

Either way, regulation has forced these small processors to close. Once these small processors closed, it was more difficult and still is for farmers to find processors who will do smaller batches of animals for them to serve to their customers.

The major processors acquired everything that remained. Once they controlled the herd's market share, they could set the price they paid for live animals delivered to their facility, ensuring they always offered the lowest price to consumers.

Eventually, this price gouging forced many ranchers to close up shop, leaving only those with sufficient scale to raise a cow at a low enough cost.

We wouldn’t have had to stop production during COVID if the majority of beef were still being processed by family-run butcher shops. Farmers could still have safely delivered their beef to the facility, and the processors and their families could have easily cut up all the meat without risking the spread of the disease.

It would be a shame if I didn’t add that lots of farmers actually have been forced out of the beef industry because the price is too high! They simply can’t afford to restock their herd, causing yet again more consolidation in the industry.

So what can you do?

First of all, you’re already at the first important step, learning about the problem! I encourage you to do some more research on the history of not only beef, but all of the food you eat. You should really get to know it before you eat it!

As I eluded to before, the food you put on your plate has a backstory. By purchasing it, you support it and the people who helped it get there.

I don’t expect the answers for this broken system to come from Washington, D.C. Although that would be nice, the best way to fix it is to support the small farmers and butchers. Our farm does its best to support all of the small farmers and other businesses we can. That way, you can be proud that your food is making a difference in the lives of not only us, but the whole community.

There are many small farms and businesses that need support. All of which have their own story and their own desire to help you and your family become happy and healthy once again. By shopping from these farms, you don’t just support them, but the entire food system, helping eliminate the volatility and risks of food scarcity that come from the consolidation of food production.

I want to leave you with some encouragement: you can make a difference by educating yourself about how your food gets to your plate and by telling a friend about the challenges facing American farmers and ranchers and the effects they will have on their food. Most importantly, I want to encourage you to take the time to get to know your farmer, understand your food, and recognize the impact you're making on the world.

CLICK HERE TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON YOUR FOOD

Hope for Farmers and Our Food in 2026!

2025 was a challenging year for most farmers in America. Input prices continued to rise, while commodity prices at which farmers sell their goods remain unchanged in our area and in many parts of the U.S. This, coupled with challenging weather patterns that have reduced yields, has caused many farmers to suffer. According to the 2025 Agricultural Lender Survey, a survey sent to banks that lend to farmers nationwide, 93% of all banks expect farmer debt to increase over the next year. The National Corn Growers Association expects corn, our country's most prized crop, to net farmers a profit of -$0.85/bushel (Or an average loss of $150/acre). That’s correct: with current input costs subtracted from the price of the grain, most farmers will incur a loss on their corn crops. Well, that’s just one crop, right? Wrong - Most farmers growing crops to sell at the commodity market will see very little or no margin of profit for their work this year. Next year doesn’t look much better either. So how did we get here? Farming in history has always had good times and bad times. We hear in the Bible of the 7 years of bounty and 7 years of famine; the great potato famine of 1845; and, most recently, for the American farmer, the Dust Bowl. Most of these were caused by weather-related or natural factors; however, this time, it is a much deeper problem. Input costs for corn (on average in the U.S.) have reached $897 per acre. This includes Chemicals, Fertilizer, Seed, Land Rent, Wages, and Equipment Costs. We observed a substantial increase in all of these costs first in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on trade and future uncertainty led chemical and fertilizer manufacturers to raise prices, as most of the components of these products are imported. The price of land and, subsequently, land rent have been on a constant rise forever. It has recently become a huge problem because the price has reached the point where farmers can no longer afford to purchase their own land. Their income from selling the crops and livestock they raise is insufficient to buy the land required to continue operations. Who’s going to purchase farm land? Enter the billionaires who now view farmland as a lucrative investment and are willing to pay substantial sums for it, thereby further inflating prices. As the price of farmland rises, land rent must also increase to cover the cost of the land. Increasing the farmers' cost per acre. Farmers are earning less than ever, and they are receiving little cash for their crops. Here’s a chart of corn prices since 2000. As you can see, the price has experienced significant fluctuations but, overall, has increased little relative to the cost of growing corn. Great, farmers are making less money than ever, but when I go to the grocery store, the cost of everything just keeps going up! What's the deal with that? Let us keep looking at it from the farmer's perspective to see what is happening. We’ll keep rolling with corn since that’s where we started, but the general idea can be put to any crop grown on a commodity scale. According to the USDA, here is how the corn grown in America is distributed. UsePercentage of Total Corn ProductionLivestock feed~37–40%Ethanol & byproducts~30–35%Exports~10–15%Food products~10%Seed & industrial~3–5% This chart shows that pigs, chickens, and cattle consume the largest quantities of corn grown in the United States. A few major integrated buyers control more than 30% of all of the corn purchased for animal feed. These are companies like Perdue, Tyson, Cargill, Smithfield, and JBS. You’ve probably heard those names or eaten products from these companies a time or two. These integrators account for over 60% of all proteins consumed in the United States. This gives them control over not only the costs of products on supermarket shelves. They can always find ways to manufacture their product more cheaply, which entices consumers (not necessarily you, because you care about where your food comes from) to purchase it. They know that a major input in the production of their product is corn, that it’s being overproduced, and that if they purchase enough of it, they can control the price they pay to farmers. Every year, these integrators gain market share and strive to own more of the process, so ultimately they can have greater control over where the money goes. Let’s take a quick birds-eye view of how these vertical integrators got their start. Around 1940, one of the first instances of integration occurred in poultry production when Arthur Perdue and his son, Frank, founded Perdue Farms. They saw a problem: chickens grew too slowly, didn’t taste good, and they were too expensive. He established his own breeding operation and persuaded farmers to raise his birds by contracting to purchase them back once they were full-grown. This business model allowed farmers to assume much less risk in adopting new chicken breeds while allowing the Perdue family to capitalize on their hard work. Their business gradually evolved into supplying farmers with everything they needed to raise birds. This was a significant relief for farmers, who could not manage the large market swings and rising input costs in the 70’s and 80’s. From there, the business expanded into the processing and marketing of poultry to supermarkets and restaurants. From the farmers' perspective, it was a no-brainer to join. What had been a long, risky business of raising a bird and marketing it himself, hoping someone would buy it once fully grown, became a quick and easy way to generate cash flow and keep the family farm afloat. The Cargills and what is now known as Smithfield, alongside a few others, quickly adopted the Perdue family business model, integrating the beef and pork industries into what we know today. Fortunately, beef is somewhat more challenging to integrate because of the long time required to raise a calf to slaughter. That does seem to be changing now as time goes on, but that’s a story for a different day. Back to the story at hand - Since these integrators control the majority of the feed and, in turn, the majority of the market on which a corn farmer can sell their crops, they can control the price at which they choose to pay for it. Because there is excess corn production, they can be very stingy in setting their prices to ensure profitability. So why don’t farmers just grow less corn? Well, it’s not that simple. In the eyes of the farmer, if the dollars per acre are getting smaller, the most obvious solution to keep the family business afloat is to plant more acres. If you generate a profit of $10 per acre on all of your farm land, but only have 100 acres, that’s only $1,000 that you would have to reinvest back into your business; however, if you farm 10,000 acres, that yields $100,000 to reinvest in your business. There is a real advantage in the commodity farming world to having more acres. You have more scale, which generally means your cost per acre decreases. This problem has been responsible for the dissolution of more than 140,000 farms during 2017-2022. That is a 7% drop, according to Northern Ag Network. As we’ve seen throughout history, the fewer hands that control, the more controlling those hands can be. How do we fix it? It is not a simple solution. If you wanted to start a farm, it would be nearly impossible without an enormous amount of cash on hand. There's a saying in the farming community that the best way to make a million dollars farming is to start with two million. Which, if you're growing commodity crops, is probably true. We were stuck on the commodity merry-go-round for years, but we have finally gotten off of it. Here's how we did it. To get a good picture of the history of our farm, we must go back about 150 years, when my great-great-grandfather began selling produce from his farm into the neighboring coal towns. He would load his wagon, which eventually became a truck, and go door to door, selling the crops he grew. The wives of the miners could not grow the food needed to keep their growing families' bellies full, so they relied on the farmer to keep the pantry full. This was a sound and substantial business model for over 80 years, continuing until my grandfather’s time on the farm. During my grandfather’s tenure on the farm, he observed a shift toward people choosing to go to the grocery store rather than wait for the farmer to deliver. Culture was shifting. Coal was running out in these towns, and new mining practices meant that the next generation had to leave to find jobs. Many women worked in factories during World War II, and some of them stayed to help provide for their families. The grocery store offered something they couldn’t get from personal door delivery from farmers. You could get all of your goods at one spot, rather than waiting all day at home, hoping not to miss your butcher, milk man, or farmer. My grandpa saw this cultural shift and knew he needed to shift too to keep the farm afloat. We began growing produce and selling it directly to the grocery stores. This was a great business at first. Slow and expensive transportation meant it was best for grocers to purchase food locally. They supported their farmers in ways that now seem crazy. Grandpa describes the times when potatoes were plentiful, when produce managers would run sales and work with the farmers to move their product. Like all good things, this came to an end. Advancements in transportation and economies of scale took over. Farmers in areas with better, more controlled climates and fertile soils could produce crops more efficiently and at a lower cost than we can. The biggest change came when the federal water projects built the infrastructure needed to irrigate the previously desert-like climate. Farmers could now perfectly time when the crops get water, giving the best environment to grow a higher-yielding crop. Pair that with the advancements in the transportation industry that made it relatively cheap, it is a no-brainer for the grocery store to buy its produce from farther away at a lower price. We played the commodity game for 50 years. By then, we were tired of it. There will always be a farm bigger than yours that can do things more economically. Let's face it, most businessmen in corporate America care about one thing: cost. So they will always ride the cheap hand. Competing on price left our farm depleted. Economically, emotionally, and environmentally. We knew we needed to change, we just weren't sure how. Looking backwards, we admired our forefathers' ability to connect with the people who actually ate their food. We decided to throw our hands up, waive the white flag on the commodity game, and get closer to our customers. Although very scary and uncertain at the time, it was one of the best decisions we ever made on our farm. We began by growing specialty potatoes, allowing us to sell them at a higher price. It was challenging to find customers and manage the systems required to produce and distribute this special potato, but ultimately it yielded higher margins and profit per acre. This margin gave us flexibility to try new approaches. We began covercropping and no-tilling in between potato crops. All things that improved our land. Although we still were not selling our crops directly to the end consumer, we were much closer to them. We still wanted to make our land and business better, so we really jumped off the deep end and added livestock back to the mix. For the first time in over 50 years, we had cattle on our farm. Like most things, the first year was an abject disaster. With persistence and patience, we finally got the hang of it. In 2020, we started the journey of something we’ve been dreaming of for years. Selling the food we grow, directly off the farm and into the hands of the families who will be eating it. It has meant so much more to our farm than we ever could have imagined. It has given us freedom from the constraints of the commodity market. It has also allowed us to become better farmers. We get to talk directly with you, and learn what you are concerned about and ultimately, what we can do to help alleviate those concerns, whether it is what we feed our animals, put in our soils, or simply how we farm. This connection has given us the perspective of someone looking from the outside in, something that was very hard to come by when selling to a few big customers. Why aren’t more farms doing what we did and leaving the commodity world? There are lots of factors that go into it. First, it requires a desire for change. It can be terrifying deciding to turn away from something you’ve known and done for years. The average age of farmers in the U.S. is 58 years old, according to the 2022 census. How much changing do you really want to do when you're 7 years away from retirement? It’s the next generation taking over these farms that will need to change to keep the business going. Some farms have already begun implementing the change. It is interesting, at least in our area, that more farmers are starting to adopt the idea of getting closer to their customers. I look forward to seeing what farms look like in 10-15 years. The government, although it is trying to help farmers in a time of need, has not been doing farmers any favors. Most government subsidies and aid for farmers have been propping up a broken system. It would be desirable if farmers could afford to be in business and would not have to rely on external funds just to keep feeding our country. So what can you do to help? Well, you’ve already started the first step! Educate yourself on where your food comes from. To truly make a difference, get closer to your farmer and the land where your food comes from. I talk with many people, farmers and non-farmers alike, and some think that if we could just get the right individual in a political office, our farms and food would be much better off. While this is true to an extent, there is only so much one person can do. You, alongside millions of other families concerned about the safety and stability of our food, have the opportunity to make a difference every time you choose your meal. By purchasing food that is closer to the farm, more of it will go to the farmer and be reinvested in our land and local community. At first glance, it may be more expensive and time-consuming to shop from farms rather than the supermarket, but it will be well worth your while in the difference it will make in your health, your community, and the next generation. I would like to conclude with this thought. Cambridge University recently surveyed families who purchase food from farmers to identify the most significant barriers to sourcing food right off the farm. The responses were as I would have imagined, with cost and availability being at the top of the list. To me, this is a relative problem. Looking back to the founding of the United States, consider how much of our resources (time and money) were spent on obtaining food. Pretty much, I’d think. I’d venture to say easily over 50% but probably closer to 60% or 70%. Today, the median household income for a family is right around $130,000. If they take home $100,000/year (after taxes) and spend 25% of that on food, you’d have around $70/day to spend on food for your family. From our farm, to get a good crockpot dinner shipped to you, you’d pay approximately $41.50. $36.00 for the Chuck Roast, $3.00 for the spuds, $1.50 for carrots (supplied from another local farm), and $1.00 for spices. For a family of 4, this would be plenty to fill everyone’s plate for one night and even give leftovers for the next day! I don’t mean to be naive in saying this, because I do understand things are a lot different in today’s world. The settlers didn’t have to pay a mortgage, enroll the children in a good daycare, or have a car payment. But think of all of the good food and local businesses we could support if we would just put a few more resources into where our food comes from. We believe that food is an investment not only in your health but also in your community. The choices you make in where you source your food have some of the most significant effects on the environment, economy, and the lives of farmers who hope to continue their legacy. All farmers deep down have a desire to feed people. It’s you, the customer, who can choose to support farms that want to support you. In doing so, you can give more farmers hope, trust, and encouragement to continue, and help them adjust their farms to improve. Better for them, better for you, and better for the world. Get out and find a farmer to support today. We’d love it if you’d join us, but there are also lots of other great farmers who would love to help you put good food that you can be proud of on your table. Encourage your friends and family to do the same, and as a community, we can set the next generation up with a better environment, a connection to their food, and a better life for both farmers and food eaters!

PCOS Medication for Chickens?

While scrolling through one of my subscribed bi-weekly AG E-Newsletters, a headline caught my eye - “Chicken or the egg (or the drug)? - Research shows that a common diabetes medication for humans (metformin) can help broiler breeder hens produce more eggs.” I was sitting across from my brother John, and words came out of my mouth that resembled something like, “What in the world are they giving to our chickens now?!?” As he is subscribed to the same newsletter and is a little more organized than I am, he already read the article; he just smirked. Once I finished reading the article, we discussed whether we thought this was a good idea or not; you can probably guess our opinions. In summary, the article says researchers at Penn State have discovered that metformin, a medication commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in humans, can significantly enhance egg production in broiler breeder hens. In a 40-week study, hens administered a small daily dose of metformin laid more fertile eggs, showed reduced body fat, and showed healthier reproductive hormone levels than untreated hens. The study revealed that metformin influences liver gene activity, increasing the production of yolk proteins and stabilizing blood sugar levels while decreasing genes associated with fat accumulation. These effects mirror metformin's action in humans, where it improves insulin sensitivity and hormonal balance. Penn State This research suggests that metformin could be a tool in poultry farming, potentially extending the productive laying period of hens, reducing flock turnover, and enhancing overall farm efficiency. Significantly, metformin is rapidly metabolized in hens, thus they claim, minimizing any risk to the food supply. (Here’s a link to the full article) If you read the article closely, you can see that this medication is NOT being used and has yet to enter our food system. However, it is a good example of how the American ag industry can create its own problem and solve it by throwing a drug or chemical at it. Let me put this in simpler terms and use the example of Metformin in chicken production. How Big Ag Views the Dilemma Problem: Broiler Chickens do not lay enough eggs, and we can make more money if they lay longer and more fertile eggs. (It will take fewer momma chickens) Solution: Give chickens drugs that affect their hormones, enhancing their egg-laying abilities. Here’s How We View the Dilemma Problem: Broiler Chickens do not lay enough eggs, and we can make more money if they lay longer and more fertile eggs. Solution: Don’t grow chickens unnaturally fast! The issue is that we’ve bred our livestock and crops to grow so fast and so large for the sake of “efficiency” that we’ve become too reliant on drugs and chemicals to keep up with this fast-paced farming method. Chickens, for instance, used to take 16-20 weeks to reach their market weight; now, they are bred to reach market weight in about 6 weeks! This rapid development causes the chickens to grow unnaturally fast, which has significant side effects for both the chicken and the person. Things have developed too far for the case of efficiency in our food system. Statements like this tend to give rise to many arguments, mainly along the lines of There are not enough farmers to produce all of the food.It’s not good for the animals to be out in the open without antibiotics.We can’t grow enough food to feed the world. 1) There are not enough farmers to produce all of the food - Let’s start by looking at the farmers. In 1776, 90-95% of Americans were farmers. They grew all of the food they needed to survive. Most people had their own garden or small livestock herd. Now, around 1.3% of the population in America are farmers, with the number declining every day. So, how did we get here? Once cities and populations began to grow, it became increasingly desirable for people to hone in on one skill and trade it with others to make the community thrive. (For example, blacksmith, cobbler, preacher, builder, farmer) Most people traded their services and goods within 10 miles of where they lived. This built strong community ties and a willingness to work together. Eventually, the Industrial Revolution came along and built faster transport, better equipment, and communication. Businesses could trade their goods over a farther distance. This new ability to market to larger numbers of people started the corporatization of the American Farm. Farming became more efficient after World War 2 with the use of chemicals, tractors, and bigger equipment, which meant that those who were the best marketers, and could sell the most, had the most money to buy new farms and plant more crops. They could afford to buy up bigger and better equipment and land, and in turn, could grow more food cheaply. This caused prices to drop, and the little farmers could not keep up. If we exclude the less than 10-acre farms (which are still vital but don’t make up for a large portion of food eaten in America), we can see that in 1920 the average farm size was 148 acres, whereas in 2022 the average size was 1500 acres! A 1000% increase in size! This shows the devastating number of farms and farming families forced to shut down their tractors to make room for these big farms. To grow food in a more natural way, we would need more farmers, each with a common goal to feed the world with good food. 2) It’s not good for the animals to be out in the open without antibiotics We will not spend much time on the next argument, which is that it’s inhumane for animals to be raised without the use of antibiotics and drugs. I somewhat agree with this argument. Let me explain. It would be inhumane for us to raise animals in a confinement system without the use of these drugs. All of the animals would be sick and more than likely die, simply because they were not designed to be grown in this manner. At Red Hill Harvest, we believe that God designed animals to be raised outdoors without antibiotics or drugs. When raised in the pasture, there is a much lower risk of getting and sharing diseases because they are never over their manure for more than one day and do not breathe and share the same air. In the case of a confined animal operation, it might actually be more ethical to have lab-grown meat. I don’t see much difference between raising chickens in a barn, where they are kept in a very crowded environment and only fed a specific ration of feed (not free choice), and in a “lab” where the meat is being manufactured. 3) We can’t grow enough food to feed the world. The final argument that we will not be able to grow enough food is simply untrue. Many farms, especially where we live, simply are not suited to have crops grown on them. Rather than increasing a subpar crop of corn and soybeans, we could grow a bountiful crop of grass and other high-quality forages and walk the animals to the feed. (You would also eliminate the need for heavy machinery and help the environment tremendously.) How much sense does it make for us to grow feed, harvest it, truck it, store it, re-truck it, grind it, haul it back to the farm, and finally feed it to an animal? We recently bought a piece of land that was about 60 acres in total. On the sale bill, it said 40 acres were tillable and around 20 acres were wooded. Really, there are about 5 acres that we consider “tillable” that would produce a decent crop. Rather than trying to grow a grain crop, we let it grow and turn into grass. Then our cows can walk across the steep hills and valleys without causing harm to our machinery or the land. This way, we can utilize all 60 acres (yes, we even let the cows graze the woods when it gets hot) and still produce tons of feed! Way more than we could ever grow if we were to try to plant row crops. It all comes down to the fact that there are no longer enough farmers. Feeding the animals right off the land requires more management and labor to set up fences and work with the animals. With the current number of farmers in America, it would be challenging to scale back to a manageable size. How can we solve the problems in our food system? I believe it would be very difficult to emerge from the hole we have dug as a society. Farms are controlled by so few people that it would be hard to attract new farmers and start more farms. It would mean promoting and helping new farmers buy land, meaning the large corporations would have to dissolve. I don’t know what you think, but I don’t see that happening without significantly disrupting our food system. You CAN make a difference, however. You can control how your food is produced by choosing where you source your food. A growing number of people are fed up with the current food system and how things are being raised. Things will change if we all join together and make smart decisions in choosing where we source our food. While there are many promising things happening at the government level to promote healthy and sustainable farming practices, it’s not enough. If we reject food from the corporate world, and support small farms and farmers who raise their products the way you want them to, we can make a change. I hope that the last paragraph encouraged you to start making a difference. Money controls politicians and businessmen alike, and where you choose to spend it will shape the course of our future. With the developments of social media and websites, you can see exactly how your food is produced without even setting foot on a farm! You can reconnect with your farmer, reject the highly industrialized, unethical farming method, and support a farm that wants to support your health!

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