Email 6 of Six of Cunningham Ranch Six Week Email Series: Why Beef Prices are Skyrocketing Nationwide - by Liz Cunningham

Dear Friends,

As we head into Thanksgiving, I’ve been reflecting on all we’ve shared over these past six weeks — stories about land, legacy, and the unseen forces shaping food prices across our country.

From retiring ranchers and broken grazing policies to monopolized meat packers and shrinking herds, we’ve talked about what’s really happening behind the price tag and why consumers are paying more for their beef. 

These aren’t small problems. They shape the entire backbone of our food system.

But here’s the part I need you to hear from me, personally:

You — the families who care where your food comes from — are the only ones powerful enough to change 

the direction we’re headed.

As a rancher, I can graze responsibly, raise cattle with integrity, and fight for local processing…

But without community, ranchers like us can’t survive. And without ranchers, our country loses something precious: Food raised by families, not corporations.

Every time you choose to support a small rancher, buy from a local market, or fill your freezer with beef (or turkey), you can trace back to real people; you’re taking a stand for integrity in our food system.  

You’re helping to preserve not just our way of life, but a food supply built on care, transparency, and community.

This Thanksgiving, as we gather around the table with friends and family, I want to express our deep gratitude — not just for the blessings of another season, but for every one of you who chooses to do the right thing.

It takes sacrifice to stay local, to resist convenience, and to care where your food comes from. But because of you, local ranching still has a future.

Here’s how we can keep that hope alive together 👇

🟩 Support the policies that really matter— Especially the Ones that Help Small Ranchers

Most people don’t realize how hard it is for small processors to survive.

USDA rules are written for giant plants that harvest thousands of animals a day.

Small, careful processors — the kind that actually value quality and craftsmanship — get buried under those same rules. That’s why I want you to know about the Strengthening Local Processing Act.

Instead of helping mega-plants get bigger, this bill:

• Supports small processing plants
• Expands grant funding for equipment and upgrades
• Helps rural communities build resilient, local food systems
• Ensures processing is more accessible for ranchers like us

This bill is supported by individuals who genuinely care about local food, including sustainable agriculture groups, farmers, ranchers, and families seeking genuine transparency regarding their food.

🗳️Support the PRIME Act

This legislation would allow custom processors to sell directly to consumers and retailers within their state — freeing small ranchers from the chokehold of the big four packers.

🌾Back the LOCAL Foods Act and others like it

Designed to help small-scale producers sell regionally and thrive under modernized rules that actually fit their scale and value.

💚 Shop Local. Eat Local. Vote Local. Put your dollars where they count - ultimately, they come full circle, from farm to fork. 

Every trip to Cliff’s Country Market, the home of Cunningham Pastured Meats, and every order of Cunningham Pastured Meats that you order for delivery to your home, every meal you share with others that contains food raised right —you are supporting local producers who care about you!