Meat Shortages, Inflation, and How That Affects Meat Prices

Meat shortages, inflation, rising fuel prices, and rising grain prices in the Boise area...

Topics that are not much fun to discuss.

The question I'm sure on everyone's mind is...

Does this all mean we are going to raise our prices?

The quick answer is NO... For right now. Let me explain what I mean.

As we know, commodities are constantly in flux.  Fuel cost is always up and down, and grain prices are constantly on the move as well. We can certainly agree a wide swing in either or both of those two commodities will have affect livestock pricing. Remember a few years ago when cattle prices went sky high and then came back down? That disparity followed the huge jump in fuel prices that eventually came back down. We see that fluctuation again. What we see at the pump is reflected in prices at the grocery store!  

At Cunningham Pastured Meats, we are committed to holding our pricing through the Summer.  Once grain harvests are complete in the Fall in the Treasure Valley, we will know what happens to our feed cost for some animals. We will address the price issue at that time, adjusting only if necessary to maintain our quality. 

Speaking of grocery store pricing...let's talk about the increase in beef, pork, and chicken meat prices. The gigantic industrial packing plants are saying the increases are fall out from a cyberattack and lack of labor. While both may be true to an extent, the big packers are still racking in extremely high profits while meat prices are going up; yet farmers and ranchers do not realize any increase in profit on the sale of their products. Hmmm...

Something is fishy. This is why we have tried our best to break away from this vicious cycle that most ranchers are stuck in. It is because of amazing customers like you who have decided that you don't trust the big packing plants and labels they slap on their products. Customers like you who are voting against Big Ag using your food dollar.

Instead, you have chosen to have a relationship with your rancher. A relationship with transparency and trust, so you know exactly how your meat is raised, processed, and packaged. And a relationship with folks who shop where you shop. We are all experiencing uncertainty with commercial supply chain disruptions of all kinds, from panic buying creating out-of-stock situations on essentials to supposed cyberattacks that interrupt supply, along with the sharp twinge of rising fuel prices. We get it.  

There is one way we can defeat these large corporations that have a stranglehold on most farmers and ranchers right now. That is a return to smaller-scale direct-to-consumer production and distribution. Buying Boise local. It is the only thing that Big Ag Corporations cannot replicate. It is the only way to have confidence in food safety, supply, and pricing.  

Hasn't this last year been painful enough, the uncertainty of so much keeping us all awake at night? At Cunningham Pastured Meats, we offer you a relationship with your rancher. So you can rest easy, knowing where your food comes from. Safe food, all-natural products with integrity and full of wholesome nutrition - dare I say healing nutrition - all at a price you can count on.  Given what is happening in our global society, doesn't it just make sense to support sustainable production and distribution by voting with your food dollar?  Cast that vote with us. You won't regret it.