Six Challenges Ranchers Face and The Importance of Supporting Small, Local Businesses - Email 1

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November 26, 2025

Email 1 of Six Challenges Ranchers Face and The Importance of Supporting Small, Local Businesses

This is the start of an email series nobody should ignore:

To the Families We Serve,

This email is the start of a special series I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks. Together, we’ll look at why beef prices are skyrocketing nationwide and what it means for families here at home.

My goal is simple:

to help you understand the challenges that ranchers like us face.
to help you understand why supporting local producers has never been more important.

The conversation I’m about to start is one I believe belongs at every dinner table in America, especially here in Idaho.

And, it's a conversation email I hope you will share with your friends and neighbors on the topic that will impact every individual in America! In short:

The cattle industry is in the middle of a storm unlike anything we’ve seen in decades, and it affects every single one of us.

Scroll down to read just a glimpse of what ranchers are up against:

Here’s just a glimpse of what ranchers are up against:

Ranchers are retiring in record numbers, leading to the largest land ownership transfer in U.S. history.
The U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest numbers since the 1940s, despite the country's growing population.
The closed U.S. border limiting the number of beef animals impacting a low supply to demand.
Restricted use of public lands for grazing in the western U.S.
The consolidation of the meatpacking industry has resulted in 85% of all U.S. Beef being processed by only four large companies.

These are not abstract numbers. They represent why you’re seeing beef prices skyrocket in grocery stores across the country.

Here at Cunningham Pastured Meats, we have worked hard to shield our community from these pressures. Because we raise our own cattle, manage our pastures carefully, and partner with trusted local butchers, we’ve been able to hold prices steady, for now.

But I want to be transparent: even for small family ranches like ours, the pressure is mounting. Every season, it becomes harder to absorb rising costs while staying true to our promise of bringing you Meat You Can Trust.

🔎 What this means to you:

Our prices are currently stable. We are committed to maintaining our prices through the end of 2025 as we monitor the unfolding of this unusual market.
Your support matters. Buying local protects families like ours and keeps food dollars in our community.
Meat you can TRUST. When you choose Cunningham Pastured Meats you are choosing quality, transparency, and care that the big beef industry cannot deliver.

That’s why I’ll be sending these weekly updates — each one focusing on a different challenge our industry is facing. Because supporting local ranchers isn’t just about buying beef. It’s about ensuring that future generations have access to food raised with integrity, right here in our valley.

This is more than just ranch talk — it’s a conversation that matters at your dinner table, too.

My hope is that we start a conversation that goes viral on a topic that will impact us all, and that is just too important to ignore!

Take me to Email 2: The fallout as Ranchers are retiring in record numbers, leading to the largest land ownership transfer in U.S. history

Email 2 of Six Week Series

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.

Six Challenges Ranchers Face and The Importance of Supporting Small, Local Businesses - Email 1

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