08/23/2026
Several folks have asked about the recent news of more imported beef— here is our $0.02.
A huge vulnerability in our food supply was exposed in 2020. Some mega processing facilities in the US have the capability of harvesting 6k+ head of cattle per day, 600k per week collectively—during COVID, these facilities couldn’t operate, and meat shortages were prevalent. Many farmers like myself were frustrated with the years leading to 2020, cattle just were not bringing what they were worth— so just like the Duttons surmised on a Netflix series, several farmers elected to build their own (small) processing plant.
There are roughly 7-8000 small meat processing facilities across the US, some harvest 5 beef per week, while others can harvest a couple hundred. Collectively, these small processing facilities took a huge market share from the Big 4 meat packers. Starting in 2024, the cattle market exploded— driven by the packers who thought they could operate on thin margins, while suffocating small processors like us.
When we opened our doors in 2022, we sold wholesale beef for $2.80 per lb out the door, now $5.15 per lb is our going rate. We sell roughly 12 beef per week thru our retail case. The part yall don’t see is all the fat and trim that comes off of those—some beef will have 100+ extra lbs of fat that we have to find a home for— we aren’t big enough to sell for biofuels, so our best option is to make burger and tallow and stash for deer season. To make burger, we have to add 400 lbs of lean to 100 lbs of fat—good lean bulls cost $1 per lb more than our break even point. Think about that on a big packer level— 600000 head x 100 lbs = 60000000 lbs (conservatively each week). One could see why they are wanting to bring in foreign lean— but will never be something that AW utilizes.
If you have bought burger from a big box store or dined at a burger joint in the last decade, chances are you have consumed foreign beef at some point— one thing is for sure though, there is nothing like good fresh never frozen in a cargo container ground beef from the USA.
We knew we were entering a potentially rocky business, but never imagined it would have gone this far. Several of the large packers have closed their doors indefinitely over the past 6 months—we are working our rumps off to not fall into the same hole.
Most cattle farmers do it because they love it, but a stable market is the most important piece right now. Some are afraid to buy further into the market on fears that the bottom will fall out….again.
When you buy local, you are protecting the longevity of the local farmers and securing the future for the community around them—“I can buy it cheaper at a big box store” might be ok for some things, but meat is not one.
