Not a fan of meatloaf, but love our ground beef!! More recipe ideas here!

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August 15, 2025

1. Classic Stuffed Peppers 🌶

Hollow out bell peppers available at Cliff's, the home of Cunningham Pastured Meats and organically grown and fill them with a mix of cooked Cunningham Ranch 80/20 ground beef, rice, onions, and Italian herbs. Top with cheese and bake until bubbly.

2. Savory Beef Tacos 🌮

Brown ground beef with cumin, chili powder, and garlic. Serve in warm tortillas with fresh lettuce, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheese. Our favorite cheese is Sierra Nevada Organic Raw White Cheddar sold fresh at Cliff's Country Market's deli - Remember, Cliff's is the home of Cunningham Pastured Meats -- purchase all of your fresh, organic and local produce and raw milk cheeses for a supreme meal!!

3. Juicy Smash Burgers 🍔

Form loose ground beef balls, press onto a hot griddle, and season generously with salt and pepper. Top with melty cheese and stack on toasted buns. We love Gaston's Brioche buns. Gaston's bread is baked fresh and delivered daily to Cliff's, the home of Cunningham Pastured Meats!

4. Hearty Beef & Veggie Skillet 🥦

Sauté ground beef with onions, carrots, zucchini, and garlic. Add a splash of beef broth and simmer until tender for a one-pan dinner.

5. Spaghetti Bolognese 🍝

Simmer Cunningham’s pasture-raised ground beef with crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning for a rich, hearty sauce. Here’s a local tip: Cliff’s — home of Cunningham Pastured Meats — offers seasonal, certified organic canning tomatoes grown right here in Idaho by Rice Family Farms. Use them to make your own fresh, flavorful Bolognese with ease… and serve it with love. ❤️

#CunninghamPasturedMeats #GrassFedBeef #80_20GroundBeef #BeyondTheBun #MamaKnowsBest #FarmToTable #PastureRaisedBeef #IdahoEats #IdahoGrown #RiceFamilyFarms #CliffsCountryMarket #LocalLove #SupportLocalIdaho #ComfortFood #EasyDinnerIdeas #GroundBeefRecipe

More on the Big Four: JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef

🧩 “Who Controls Your Beef?” 🥩 The Big Four: 85% of America’s Beef Controlled by 4 Companies 💬 “When just four companies process most of the beef in our country, we don’t just lose competition — we lose connection.” — Liz Cunningham Panel 1: The Players ProcessorOwnership% of MarketKnown ForJBS USABrazil (JBS S.A.)~25%Largest meat processor in the world; ransomware attack 2021 shut down 20% of U.S. meat supplyTyson FoodsU.S.~22%COVID shutdowns led to mass cattle backlogs; ongoing price-fixing litigationCargill Meat SolutionsU.S.~22%Commodity-driven global agribusiness; joint settlements for antitrust violationsNational Beef (Marfrig Global Foods)Brazil~18%Foreign-owned; major importer/exporter balancing U.S. beef and South American supply 📊 Together: 85–87% of all beef processed in the United States Panel 2: The Hidden Costs 💵 Price Control: Coordinated market behavior drives rancher profits down and retail prices up. 🥩 Supply Risk: When one major plant shuts down — like JBS in 2021 — U.S. beef supply can drop 20% overnight. 🌎 Foreign Influence: Two of the four are Brazilian-owned, meaning U.S. beef production decisions are made overseas. 🐄 Lost Independence: Family ranchers can’t compete with massive volume pricing. Processing access becomes bottlenecked. Panel 3: The COVID Reality Check 🚫 Plant shutdowns → millions of pounds of cattle euthanized 🍽️ Empty grocery shelves → record-high prices 🤝 Small processors couldn’t expand due to USDA red tape “It’s not the cow. It’s the how. Our food system isn’t broken — it’s bottlenecked.” — Liz Cunningham Panel 4: What We’re Doing Differently At Cunningham Ranch & Northwest Premium Meats: Locally processed beef from Jordan Valley, Oregon/Treasure Valley, Idaho USDA inspected, small-batch handled Full traceability from pasture to plate Dollars stay local — supporting Northwest families - Cliff's Country Market is now the home of Cunningham Pastured Meats💚 Food You Can Trust — From Families Who Care Panel 5: What You Can Do 🛒 Buy Local Beef — direct from ranchers and small butchers and locally owned family markets like Cliff's Country Market in Caldwell, ID 🗣️ Ask Questions — know who raised and processed your meat 🤝 Support Legislation — like the PRIME Act that gives small processors freedom 🍽️ Share the Story — because change starts around the dinner table 📍 Learn More at CunninghamPasturedMeats.com

More on How Grazing Got Complicated- it's a "heated" debate

🌾 How Grazing Got Complicated Back in the early 1900s, before federal oversight, ranchers and homesteaders often clashed over access to grazing land. By the 1930s, the BLM was formed to manage who could graze and where. Then came the 1960s — and with it, new fencing requirements, reduced grazing allotments (AUMs, or Animal Unit Months), and tighter federal restrictions. But, this isn't just a difference of opinion, this becomes a "heated" debate when fires are not well managed and threaten our lands and the solution is rooted in good stewardship of the land as nature intended.

🪰 The Screwworm Threat: A Silent Stressor on Ranchers

For decades, the New World Screwworm was an agricultural success story — a pest eradicated through science and persistence. But now, it’s back in the headlines… and back on ranchers’ minds.

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