Beef is a big deal in the west. The vast and open landscape, which is also home to a growing wildlife population, has been kept open through the existence of ranching operations over the past decades. Much of the economics of ranching has been on a downward spiral during that same period of time. Today's land values and escalating operational costs make it nearly impossible for family ranches to survive. Yet, the retail prices for beef have continued to increase while the producers' portion of those prices has decreased significantly.
Marketing of locally grown beef or niche marketing has been a somewhat successful way to increase profitability to the ranchers. It takes a different mind set in production and also requires much greater flexibility in marketing. Nearly all local restaurants, grocery stores and meat markets would gladly market locally raised beef. The logistical bottleneck of supply and demand has been the downfall of many good plans and efforts. Cattle are living creatures that eat large quantities of feed until they are processed for consumption. Once they are processed they should be consumed in a timely manner to insure the highest level of consumer safety and satisfaction. No one sits down and eats a whole cow. They prefer specific cuts and products. Good steaks and hamburger can be marketed quickly. Roasts, trim and offal move at a much slower rate. The quicker a product can be marketed the more likely you receive a good return financially. Products that are hard to sell or require more processing severely cut into the profit margin. Most local beef producers do not have options for marketing less desirable portions of their cattle. It is hard to have your own version of hot dogs, beef stew, pot pies or other means of disposing of the left over parts. Federal inspection standards restrict options for marketing local beef because there is a limited supply of facilities that meet those standards. For a rancher in the Madison Valley to market his cattle locally, he has to have them processed in Butte or Dillon. Then prior to customers taking delivery, the meat must be cut, wrapped and frozen. If the customer prefers non frozen product, then adequate refrigeration is necessary.
There are some small operations of niche marketing going on around southwest Montana. There is also opportunity for customers to buy direct from the rancher and have the meat processed for personal use, this does not require federal inspection facilities. You just pay for a whole cow and then store the meat until you can get it eaten. Not the handiest set up in our world of instant gratification and convenience.
So, how do we find a way to maximize profitability and sustainability of ranching families? Madison Avenue will not provide a reasonable solution. The federal government will not come up with a silver bullet. The ranching industry is unlikely to implement a broad based remedy to their dilemma. There was a song in the late 60's which said "the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind". There is some truth in that flippant line, the answer is obviously something we haven't done in the past. The source of the answer will be producers and consumers sufficiently compelled to develop a solution that serves all parties well. Not for maximum return on investment and not for cheapest product price, but, to equitably address the needs of all parties.