I was seeing something the other day that was related, about how the mergers of all these agribusiness companies are squeezing the farmers. Most farmers now only have one or two equipment companies, seed companies, grain buyers, etc, so that there's no competition on either the supply side or the product side of the farm, and the farmers have no leverage on either their expenses or on the prices they have to sell for.
Dan Deter So true. I saw this second hand when a friend I went to school with for 4 years, and was a top executive at Archer Daniels Midland, got convicted of price fixing and sent to federal prison. Cost ADM a fine of 100 million. Made for some later awkward class reunions. Big enough scandal that Matt Damon starred in a movie about it titled “The Informat.” I also remember what the president of ADM was quoted as saying: “Our competitors are our friends. Our customers are the enemy."
There are a few small companies trying to cut out the middleman but they are few and small. It’s a truly David and Goliath situation. I’ve talked here about one that will be processing beef in Amarillo, Tx. Even these small company’s goal is not to lower prices but to get to keep more of the retail sales money for themselves. The producers need it to help with the ever increasing cost of equipment, feed, and labor. It’s difficult to convince any company to lower prices.
MAK 2 Star pellet
Big Green Egg
Fuego gasser
Pitboss ceramic griddle
Eastman Outdoors wok burner
Ooni 16 pizza oven
Cast iron chimenea with pizza steel
Breeo smokeless fire pit, with Titan rotisserie and Titan Santa Maria style adjustable grate
Oklahoma Joe Bronco
Damn I won’t be able to find it but I just read an article about farmers getting together and building a $500 million (I think might be wrong on that number) processing plant.
This acquisitions and mergers are going to affect most industries in the US and hence cost the consumer more. Not a good thing for the little guys and gals.
In my mind, this is more reason to buy directly from farmers and split a full or 1/2 beef if your family and budget can handle it. It cuts out the big producers, but it does limit you on how much of what you get.
Nice! My last one was about $3.88ish/ pound hanging. Southern Ohio is probably out of range for where I'm at now. Though I bet there are others on here who might want to hit them up!
J-Melt I had people tell me they had grass fed and finished beef and didn't like it. So far, every cut and all the ground beef I've cooked so far taste great! Not sure what kinda grass they got, but it was definitely all top notch. A little less fatty in some cuts, but that was to be expected.
Grass fed, grass finished taste has a lot to do with the pastures used. We’ve eaten a lot that was wonderful and then bought some that was terrible and reeked of noxious weeds and forage that went in the trash uneaten.
Comment