Well, Saturday certainly didn’t go according to the weather forecast we were hoping for, but on a farm, you learn quickly to take the weather as a gift rather than an inconvenience.
It rained pretty much non-stop throughout our Fall Farm Day. Because of the less than ideal conditions, we had to call off the tractor-pulled wagon tours, and our guest vendors had to pack up and head home early to dry off.
Even so, Saturday was a tremendous blessing. Our pastures were in great need of moisture, and seeing that steady soaking rain sink deep into the soil was an answer to prayer. On top of that, we had a wonderful turnout of folks braving the rain to visit our Farm Store, stock their freezers, and visit with us. To everyone who made the trip out in the rain: thank you. Your support of what we do out here means the world to our family.
Is Pasture-Raised Meat Actually Expensive?
Earlier this week, I found myself spending a good bit of time in a tractor running a bushhog, so I put my earbuds in and listened back to an interview Joel Salatin gave on Joe Rogan’s podcast in 2014. Joel has long been an inspiration and mentor to thousands of regenerative farmers, and he has a unique gift for cutting through modern food marketing with plain common sense.
During the conversation, they tackled a question almost every direct-market farmer hears: “Why does pasture-raised food cost more than the supermarket?”
When you compare a package of 100% grass-fed ground beef or pastured poultry to commodity meat sitting under fluorescent grocery store lights, the price difference can look steep at first glance. But as Joel pointed out, that comparison falls apart once you look at what you’re actually paying for.
The Hidden “Discount” on Industrial Food
The sticker price at the grocery store isn’t the real cost of production. Conventional confinement models appear cheap only because their true costs are externalized onto the rest of society:
- Heavy taxpayer subsidies artificially prop up monoculture corn and soy crops to feed feedlot livestock.
- Billions of dollars are spent down the road managing environmental cleanup, soil erosion, and agricultural runoff in our waterways.
- The healthcare burden of antibiotic resistance and chronic dietary illness quietly collects a bill on the back end.
As Joel put it, society still pays for cheap food—we just pay it later through taxes, municipal water treatments, and doctor visits. Pasture-raised food, by contrast, carries all of its actual costs right up front. There are no deferred cleanup costs passed down to future generations.
The Convenience Tax & Household Priorities
Joel also brought up how our culture approaches food spending versus convenience. It’s remarkably easy for an average family to spend $35 to $50 on a single fast-food run for burgers, fries, and sodas without batting an eye.
Yet that same amount of money could easily purchase three to four pounds of pure, nutrient-dense, 100% grass-fed ground beef—enough to build multiple wholesome, home-cooked family dinners. Joel shared a similar observation about produce: in many cities, people regularly spend the equivalent of $4 or $5 a pound on processed potato chips for convenience, yet they will hesitate at paying $2 a pound for fresh whole potatoes from a local grower.
When we step back from paying the “convenience tax” on hyper-processed staples and put basic preparation back into the home kitchen, pasture-raised food isn’t a luxury. It’s often the most economical way to nourish a family.
Continue reading Pasture Posts #294
