The Real Costs of Local Livestock Farming

Keown-Bomar anticipates current tariffs, alongside existing problems with accurate country-of-origin labeling on meat packaging, will intensify competition and affect localized agriculture and livestock sectors.

“Right now, we have deceptive marketing of meat,” Keown-Bomar said. “Not only do we still not have accurate labeling — which would have been a real advantage for U.S. farmers and ranchers — but now we have uncertainty for where our beef and livestock proteins are being sold.”

With the consolidation of livestock industries on a national level, meat processing has become vertically integrated, the WFU stated in a 2022 report. According to the Montana Ranch and Cattle Company, the United States meatpacking industry has been overwhelmed by four major companies, coined as the “Big 4 Beef Packers: JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill, and National Beef.”

Consolidation to these few select corporations — which comprise 82% of beef packing across the nation — creates market vulnerabilities for independent farmers and processors.

Small and mid-scale meat processing plants have struggled to compete with larger industries for years, and are “disappearing from the countryside” — leaving farmers and consumers with fewer options in their local food systems.

“We went from being able to get most of our needs met in our county, to suddenly having to go significantly outside of the county for meat processing,” Rachel Henderson, Menomonie resident, WFU member, and owner of Mary Dirty Face Farm, noted in the report.

Danielle Endvick, recently appointed executive director of WFU, has firsthand experience with consolidation effects. Having witnessed her father’s difficult decision to leave the dairy farming industry, Endvick carries on her family’s legacy rooted in agriculture through the Runamuck Ranch (25257 252nd Ave., Holcombe) — raising beef, cattle, and chicken.

“Our story is mirrored all across Wisconsin. A number of dairy farms went out (of business) over the last decade, but many of them have pivoted into raising beef cattle,” Endvick said. “Our farmers are really interested in trying to find a more direct way to reach the people who care about eating locally.”

Ryan Sterry, a livestock educator for Chippewa, Dunn, and Eau Claire counties at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, said beef farming can bring new opportunities for farmers who desire to make the switch from the dairy industry. According to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service Wisconsin Field Office, the number of grade A permits for cattle dairy farms in the Chippewa Valley has steadily declined. In 2015, there were 522 permits, decreasing to 345 in 2020, and further to 257 just this year.

By comparison, Sterry noted that today, Chippewa, Dunn, and Eau Claire counties collectively have closer to 800 registered beef farms.

“(This pivot is) not a new trend, but perhaps something we notice and talk about more now,” Sterry said. “Beef farming brings a lot of options in how your business looks — you could have cows that produce calves you sell in the fall, you could be raising steers to finish, you could raise young calves before they’re ready to finish.”

Mitchell Auld, co-owner of the Durand Smokehouse, noted that larger supply companies will not be able to absorb the costs — instead, passing them directly to the meat processor, and in turn, consumers.

“It’s much more of an inconsistent market right now than what you’ve seen in the past,” Auld said. “Monthly, we are having to adjust the prices of our steaks where five years ago, your (price changes) would maybe be once or twice a year.”

Auld said their supplier for shirred ground beef casings is anticipating a 10% tariff increase as the year continues. The supplier may swallow 4% of the cost, but will pass the remaining 6% onto the Durand Smokehouse.

Despite the increase in supply costs from external imports, Auld said the success of their processing facility will lie within the strong partnerships with local livestock farmers and other producers in the area. These relationships with area and family businesses enable them to distribute their beef and meat products to local consumers while keeping the community informed about changes in the marketplace.

“Having feed grown locally, processors available, and livestock readily available in the same area gives us the ability to be self-reliant,” Auld said. “As processors and farmers, we need to do our best to make sure the local population is informed about opportunities to keep this business as local as possible.”

Jeff Swenson, the livestock and meat specialist of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, shares weekly reports on the current pricing and fluctuations in the cattle and subsequent beef marketplaces through The Mid-West Farm Report and broadcasts.

In an update shared on June 13, 2025, choice beef cutouts were over $371 per hundredweight (cwt) this week. This increase in price — compared to $203-$205/cwt in January of this year — is driven by a strong demand and tight supply of market ready cattle.

Rump’s Butcher Shoppe (1411 Lynn Ave., Altoona), another retailer of local livestock products in the Chippewa Valley, has maintained steady prices amidst smaller volumes of beef coming through their facility, impacted by vertical integration.

These butchers, processors, and retailers — each serving western Wisconsin communities —  provide pricing trends and updates on currently available products through their respective websites and social media platforms.

Kyle Neidermire, the general manager and owner of Rump’s, said it may be early in the current political administration to know if tariffs are the direct cause of inconsistencies in the meat market. Previous iterations of economic inflation have challenged local suppliers, who struggle with reduced beef and cattle inventories on their farms, he said.

“We really watch our prices day in and day out as our raw product is coming in the door,”  Neidermire said. “(Rump’s does) see seasonal fluctuations in certain products and (our prices) fluctuate with that. We’re able to do so because I’m trying to give my consumer the best quality product for the best available price.”

Empower Consumer Connection

Understanding cost fluctuation and the multifaceted challenges faced by livestock farmers in western Wisconsin will become crucial for developing effective support mechanisms and ensuring the continued vitality of these producers, Keown-Bomar said.

For producers to be successful, they need a consumer base and supply chains that work for them, she noted

“The Wisconsin Farmers Union has been advocating for improved lives for small and medium-sized farmers for our entire existence,” Keown-Bomar said. “We would like to see farmers stay on the land; see the soil stay on the land; we’d like to see clean water. All of those things really work together.”

WFU’s policies on meat processing — and the concern for tariff impacts — were determined by farmers and union members throughout the state during their 2024 annual convention, Endvick said.

“Wisconsin Farmers Union advocates that the U.S. Administration, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the U.S. government use more conciliatory approaches in resolving trade disputes with U.S.’ traditional and major trade partners, rather than ineffective practices like tariffs and embargoes,” the policy reads.

WFU urges the current administration to remove tariffs imposed on select imports from traditional trade partners — for equipment, feed, and other supplies — which would ensure the removal of tariffs on United States farm exports to other countries.

On the future of meat processing across the state, WFU advocates for an expansion in educational opportunities in meat processing, including apprenticeships and workforce development.

Livestock farmers often diversify their sales methods as one viable solution, Endvick and Keown-Bomar noted. This strategy — often actualized through farmers markets or small stores on the farm’s property — allows them to sell directly to consumers and retain a larger portion of their earnings.

“Things like (farm stores) starting to crop up across the countryside are really exciting,” Endvick said. “It’s taking that instability of what’s happening with tariffs or what’s happening across the country, (which) can have a ripple effect on the prices back here at home, (and allows farmers to take) their future more in their hands by setting the price right there at the farm gates – and having the consumers come right out to them.”

Even the Endvick family, through the Runamuck Ranch, has opened a humble — open by appointment — farm store in their former dairy barn, she said. This approach equips her family to control their farm’s profits by pricing their products directly on their property. It also provides an accessible entry point for consumers to observe initial stages of a meat supply chain firsthand and learn more about local agriculture.

Auld said he has witnessed a significant change in the Durand Smokehouse customer base, which now shows considerable interest in the origin of their meat and the raising practices of the livestock.

“More and more customers would rather feed their family meat that was raised and processed locally, rather than something that has been shipped across the country and even internationally,” Auld said.

O’Brien concurs with this belief; the MMFC customer base has become increasingly conscious of the value in purchasing meat from local sources. With the ever-increasing access to information consumers have to their local farmers and livestock industries, she said consumers have a responsibility to understand what their local food systems have to offer.

“Talk about food, talk about your farmers,” O’Brien said. “Be honest and direct with everyone in your life that local food is something you care about. Ask for local products, seek them out, buy them, and tell people about them.”

To become a member of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, or follow along with their advocacy efforts, visit wisconsinfarmersunion.com.

The Menomonie Market Food Co-op currently operates two locations, in Eau Claire and Menomonie. Engage with their dialogues with local farmers online at mmfc.coop.

Durand Smokehouse processes and distributes local livestock products online and at their two physical locations, in Durand and Woodville. Their hours are Monday to Wednesday, 8am-5pm; Thursday and Friday, 8am-6pm; and Saturday, 8am-1pm.

Rump’s Butcher Shoppe in Altoona retails processed meat and other complementary products with local ties. The shop hours are from 9am - 6pm from Monday through Saturday.