Your Choices Matter More than Ever! - Email 6

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November 26, 2025

Dear Friends,

As we head into Thanksgiving, I’ve been reflecting on all we’ve shared over these past six weeks — stories about land, legacy, and the unseen forces shaping food prices across our country.

From retiring ranchers and broken grazing policies to monopolized meat packers and shrinking herds, we’ve talked about what’s really happening behind the price tag and why consumers are paying more for their beef.

These aren’t small problems. They shape the entire backbone of our food system.

But here’s the part I need you to hear from me, personally:

You — the families who care where your food comes from — are the only ones powerful enough to change

the direction we’re headed.

As a rancher, I can graze responsibly, raise cattle with integrity, and fight for local processing…

But without community, ranchers like us can’t survive. And without ranchers, our country loses something precious: Food raised by families, not corporations.

Every time you choose to support a small rancher, buy from a local market, or fill your freezer with beef (or turkey), you can trace back to real people; you’re taking a stand for integrity in our food system.

You’re helping to preserve not just our way of life, but a food supply built on care, transparency, and community.

This Thanksgiving, as we gather around the table with friends and family, I want to express our deep gratitude — not just for the blessings of another season, but for every one of you who chooses to do the right thing.

It takes sacrifice to stay local, to resist convenience, and to care where your food comes from. But because of you, local ranching still has a future.

Here’s how we can keep that hope alive together 👇

🟩 Support the policies that really matter— Especially the Ones that Help Small Ranchers

Most people don’t realize how hard it is for small processors to survive.

USDA rules are written for giant plants that harvest thousands of animals a day.

Small, careful processors — the kind that actually value quality and craftsmanship — get buried under those same rules. That’s why I want you to know about the Strengthening Local Processing Act.

Instead of helping mega-plants get bigger, this bill:

Supports small processing plants
Expands grant funding for equipment and upgrades
Helps rural communities build resilient, local food systems
Ensures processing is more accessible for ranchers like us

This bill is supported by individuals who genuinely care about local food, including sustainable agriculture groups, farmers, ranchers, and families seeking genuine transparency regarding their food.

🗳️Support the PRIME Act

This legislation would allow custom processors to sell directly to consumers and retailers within their state — freeing small ranchers from the chokehold of the big four packers.

🌾Back the LOCAL Foods Act and others like it

Designed to help small-scale producers sell regionally and thrive under modernized rules that actually fit their scale and value.

💚 Shop Local. Eat Local. Vote Local. Put your dollars where they count - ultimately, they come full circle, from farm to fork.

Every trip to Cliff’s Country Market, the home of Cunningham Pastured Meats, and every order of Cunningham Pastured Meats that you order for delivery to your home, every meal you share with others that contains food raised right —you are supporting local producers who care about you!

Full 2026: Series on The Big Grass Fire "It Starts with a Spark!"

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Standing Together During the Big Grass Fire When wildfires threaten our communities, they don’t stop to ask whose land they’re on. They move quickly, changing lives in a matter of hours. But in rural communities like ours, something else moves just as quickly—neighbors stepping up to help neighbors. As the Big Grass Fire continues to impact parts of Idaho and Oregon, Sean Cunningham of Cunningham Pastured Meats has joined countless ranchers, volunteers, firefighters, and first responders working tirelessly to support those directly affected. But, in spite of the effort to mitigate the damages, the devastation is real to life and property. While the Cunningham ranch has not been directly impacted by the fire, Sean has been spending long days assisting neighboring ranchers whose grazing lands, livestock, fences, and livelihoods have been threatened. Whether helping protect cattle, building fire lines, moving equipment, or supporting firefighting efforts wherever needed, the work reflects something deeply rooted in ranching culture: when one neighbor is hurting, everyone shows up. With but a brief reunion with Sean after his 3 days of fire service. As you can imagine, while Sean is all smiles to finally be home for some much-needed rest, tears were shed by the littles in his reunion with the family! As many of you know, Liz and Sean, while still only in their late 30s, have seven children and one on the way. To date, Liz and Sean have spent days apart, each taking on the role in their own capacity against the fires. Sean on the dozer in the field and Liz capturing the story in a digital war to garner the attention of news agencies like KTVB7, the Lt. Governor's office, the White House, electric company CEOs and others for much needed assistance and support for the communities who are now at the mercy of a rogue grass fire, The Big Grass Fire and simultaneous fires stretching thousands of acres throughout the Jordan Valley and beyond. That spirit of service and capitalizing on each person's strengths to wage the war against the fires is nothing new to ranchers. Across the West, ranchers have long been among the first to respond when wildfire strikes. Their knowledge of the land, equipment, water sources, and terrain often makes them invaluable partners alongside local, state, and federal fire crews. Many volunteer through Rangeland Fire Protection Associations, organizations that have become an essential part of wildfire response throughout Oregon and Idaho. These partnerships help firefighters respond more quickly while protecting communities, grazing lands, wildlife habitat, and homes. For ranching families, these fires aren’t simply headlines—they’re deeply personal. A single fire can erase years of stewardship, destroy fencing, eliminate forage needed to feed cattle, and disrupt generations of hard work. Yet even in the face of tremendous loss, ranchers continue helping one another because that’s simply what neighbors do. We are incredibly grateful to every firefighter, volunteer, dispatcher, law enforcement officer, ranch family, and community member working around the clock to protect lives and property. Their courage and commitment remind us that the strength of rural communities isn’t measured only by the land we steward—it’s measured by the people willing to stand together when it matters most. Please continue keeping the families directly affected by these fires in your thoughts and prayers. Recovery will take time, but our communities have always been built on resilience, compassion, and a willingness to lend a hand. As of Wednesday July 29, 2026 at 8 am the non-official update includes official agencies holding the line with the yellow circles area in the image below a wild card. With potential winds pushing north again, critical barriers may not be enough to hold the fire from encroaching on Silver City. The blue circled area on a post seen here with images is the most difficult to manage, with juniper trees, canyons, and rock formations making it difficult terrain to navigate intervention and support. See more details and images here From all of us at Cunningham Pastured Meats and Cliff’s Country Market, thank you to everyone serving on the front lines and behind the scenes. We are honored to stand alongside a community that continues to embody the very best of what it means to be neighbors helping neighbors. We continue to remain steadfast in prayer in the midst of a very active and devastating fire season.Watch Sean's interview with KTVB news.

Your Choices Matter More than Ever! - Email 6

🟩 Support the policies that really matter— Especially the Ones that Help Small Ranchers

🌾Back the LOCAL Foods Act and others like it

💚 Shop Local. Eat Local. Vote Local. Put your dollars where they count - ultimately, they come full circle, from farm to fork.

More from the blog

Full 2026: Series on The Big Grass Fire "It Starts with a Spark!"

Full 2026: 6 week series is housed here: real food, real health, and why quality meat matters

Why Beef Prices Are Rising Across America — The Full Cunningham Ranch 6-Week Series