Livestock Farming: choices, destocking and a BIG sale
May 2025 –
I'm about to do something crazy. We've never put meat on sale like this: buy two bundles get ONE FREE!
I was shockingly frank with you in my last letter (if you aren't on our local newsletter list, sign up here) about the choices and decisions that we have to make as livestock farmers who love our animals enough to cry, bleed and miss considerable sleep (like last night, 11:30p-4:20a), and yet, we are also responsible for when they leave the earth.
It's not an easy path to walk. I like to think of it as the very narrow path of blessing. Living in that place that we understand that love makes the world go around and sacrifice — not just of animals, but also of ourselves — is the currency.
So here is some more raw realness.
Last summer was a bear. I mean brutal. We are still paying for it. Quite literally.
Not raining for the better part of year will make you a praying person if you weren't already. I understand why so many prayers in the Psalms are about rain. If you are a praying person, I'd be grateful if you prayed for timely rains for the farm, and that our soil would be covered with verdant and nutrient-dense plants.
And I'm also preparing. It feels dry in my soul. I don't like how dry the soil is, or the dust on the lanes. April was June dry. That makes me shudder and nearly tear up thinking about August.
That means we need to lighten our animal load. This is the time of year we sell bulls to breed other herds, so that is helpful. Three just left today, and one is coming home. The herds are still heavy in number and we need to lighten the numbers before the great spigot in the sky may shut off. I hope it doesn't. We are preparing the ground as much as we can, but we must also prepare for the harvests.
We need cash to buy the year's straw harvest soon, and seeds of drought-tolerant plants that will provide high-octane nutrition in the summer heat. We are working on outlaying $30k in in-ground waterers that will provide cool water to cows all over the farm, and they will be reimbursed by a federal grant, but we need to cash them for 6 weeks. That's a big gulp. Everything right now has a lot of zeros after it, and more than one digit in front of the comma. You better believe that I'm talking to that mountain.
I told you I was going to be real with you. That's why I'm destocking — to preventing having to feed so much hay if the rain stops — and looking for opportunities to provide value to folks so we in turn can buy inputs from other small businesses. We don't take your money and put it in the global supply chain. We reinvest your hard-earned dollars right in our local community and in other small businesses.
You get bacon, we reinvest and keep going.
OK, Suzanne! What's in this for me? I'm glad you asked.
If you buy any two bundles – including ½ cow, steak & roast bundle, pork, WAGYU-style (never before and maybe never again!), or our signature ground beef or ground beef with organs — you get a FREE ground-beef bundle.
Just put whatever bundles you want in your cart, including the free ground-beef bundle of your choice, and the discount will automatically be taken before you check out. Code: SUMMERBEEF. (Excludes lamb, which we have in very limited quantities.)
Just so you have an idea, an 1/8th of ground beef fits in a medium sized box. The 1/8th steak and roast bundle fits in a slightly larger box. Remember, meat is dense. This doesn't take up a lot of freezer space. But if space is an issue for you, send us a message and we will work something out so you can get it over time.
I'm also doing something else crazy. We are going to put more beef in the ground beef bundles. You are buying an 1/8 of an animal, and the animals are wonderfully fat and happy right now because of their excellent spring grazing, so until further notice, the ground beef packages now contain FIVE POUNDS MORE BEEF FOR THE SAME PRICE!
Why am I doing this?
Because I see your struggles. I feel them personally. And I know what it's like to continually compromise on things that are important to you because there are other important things you can't say no to.
Like today our truck sat on the side of the interstate for 7 hours waiting for a rescue. That requires an expensive tow. And hopefully not an expensive repair. And a really big favor from a friend in the form of a rescue truck. And someone who is paid hourly while we got that all together. And. And. And. That was an expensive morning, in addition to my unrest that our people, bulls and equipment spent a full working day on the side of the highway til quitting time before starting a full day that begins after a full day.
I see you. I feel all of it. And I believe that the only economy that is going to keep us alive as we navigate the next phase of whatever it is we are collectively going through is going to be a relational one.
That means we are in relationship. And I can be honest with you about what I really need right now — cash and less livestock — and you can be honest with me about what you need right now — food that heals your body and soul and fuels your dreams and not just your cravings.
We can work together on that. I'm determined that we can.
A rare offering – buy two (except lamb) and get ground beef bundle free!
Taco salad is tops right now. No one will taste the organs in the ground beef it it's seasoned.
Our Ground Beef with Organs truly changed my life – it's the tastiest supplement I've ever had.
It's a high honor to be your farmer. With love, always,
