Farmers bear the burden: falling cattle prices and mounting debt A news briefing from Farm Action’s policy team Oct 14, 2026 New beef price data show little consumer relief as cattle prices plunge What happened: New Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show the national average retail price of ground beef fell just 13 cents…
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Posted on October 9, 2026 by Mike Callicrate Small local/regional meatpackers have no expense associated with mandatory country of origin labeling because they don’t blend foreign beef with more expensive domestic product.. If mandatory country of origin is re-implemented on beef, the meat industry claims it would cost $721 million the first year and $4.8…
Some values can be priced; others are priceless. Work is love made visible. By John Ikerd OCT 7 People work to make money! The money paid in wages and salaries is the value of work, right? That’s one value, but not the only value. Some people work because they have to, and hate it. Others…
Mike Callicrate, founder of Ranch Foods Direct, joins Kevin Carney and Emanuel Petrescu to discuss community economics and the struggle to keep locally created wealth within the communities that produce it. Callicrate recounts how being shut out by dominant meatpackers led him to sell meat directly, develop local processing capacity, and control the supply chain…
Posted on October 2, 2026 by Mike Callicrate The ability to sell ground beef (trim) is the biggest challenge for small slaughter plants. Redirecting government purchasing could be the key to small plant survival. October 2, 2026 Big food companies have rejected the use of the Born and Raised in the USA label since more…
Posted on October 2, 2026 by Mike Callicrate The ability to sell ground beef (trim) is the biggest challenge for small slaughter plants. Redirecting government purchasing could be the key to small plant survival. Big food companies have rejected the use of the Born and Raised in the USA label since more questions are asked…
Aug 25, 2026 LinkedInFacebookBlueskyRedditMastodonXEmailShare Michael Bowman farmed and ranched in far eastern Colorado. He says the rural-urban divide is a myth concocted by those who want to capitalize on division. “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, “Walden,” 1854 by…
For generations, the family farm has been central to the American story. But these days, farmers are struggling with sharply higher costs and crushing debt on top of the same economic pressures the rest of the country feels. Judy Woodruff reports on what it takes to keep a farm going and who will carry on…
Immigration is a hot topic deserving some deeper understanding … Dec. 8, 2017 Our Town – Part One Ira Glass writes: One thing we were excited for, in reporting our two shows about Albertville, was that we could take the claims that many politicians have made about immigrants stealing jobs and driving down wages in…