Thinking outside the box has never been so important!

Well apparently, she didn't read the pre-load instruction manual! Perhaps she never thought inside the box, nor do I.

This is a segue into the subject I wish to bring light and should be concern to all those that eat beef!

Seems that the beef industry is again in another shake up, but this is only the current weather as the climate change is trending to complete vertical integration of beef production. Will beef go the way of poultry and pork, where the farmer is merely the employee of the factory farm, producing tasteless protein?

The cow/calf producers, the ones that have family farms. These farmers as I am one of them wait 9 months for their cows to have calves and then wait another 6-8 months to sell the calves. Calves are not selling at a break even price this year. As it stands in today's commodity market, the packers are the ultimate winner, since the price of boxed beef is not less expensive! To top this off, some politicians want to put taxes on retail sales to decrease beef sales-ugh!

The only way I can see influencing this market is to have the customer buy directly from the local farm. Buy the live animal from the farmer, have the farmer deliver your animal to the processor, talk to the processor as to the cuts you want and have the packages delivered to you.

Basically, vote with hard earned money and save money- all at the same time. Buy local now so you have the option of tasty rich beef in the future! Folks this is doable.

Take it from a farmer, it ain't rocket science!