Cutting Out the Middleman & Why Farm-to-Table Costs More

I’ve had a few people ask lately: “If you cut out the middleman, why is your product more expensive?” It’s a fair question — and one I want to answer honestly, because transparency is what farm-to-table is all about.

What “Cutting Out the Middleman” Looks Like on Our Farm

In the conventional food system, your dollar passes through a lot of hands before it buys your dinner:

Farmer → Packer → Distributor → Retailer → You

Every one of those steps takes a cut. By the time that steak or tomato reaches your grocery cart, only pennies of your dollar go back to the person who actually raised it. The rest is absorbed by corporations in the middle.

When we cut out the middleman, the chain looks like this:

Farmer → You

Here’s what that means in practice for our farm:

We raise the animals ourselves, then haul them to a USDA processor in Indiana.
The meat is packaged single-animal (not mixed with dozens of others like at a grocery store).
We bring it back to our own freezers, store it, and sell it directly to you through our Market or website.
Your dollars go directly to the farmers, growers, bakers, and makers whose products fill our shelves.

Instead of disappearing into a national supply chain, your money stays right here. It supports the family who raised your beef, the beekeeper who bottled your honey, the cheesemaker who cared for their herd, and the baker who got up at 4 a.m. to pull scones from the oven.

That’s the real meaning of cutting out the middleman: more than fresh food — it’s keeping our local economy alive.

Why Farm-to-Table Food Costs More (and Why That’s Okay)

Now, let’s tackle the second part of that question: “If you’re cutting out the middleman, why isn’t it cheaper?”

The truth is, local and small-scale food almost always costs more to produce than the industrial version. But that doesn’t mean one is “bad” and the other is “good.” Both large- and small-scale agriculture have a place. Some families prioritize cost and convenience. Others prioritize things like humane raising, quality, and keeping dollars local. Both choices are valid.

Here’s why small farm products often come with a higher price tag:

Large-Scale (Industrial) Production

Feedlots and large processing plants are built for efficiency. Large amounts of cattle can be raised in one place, with specialized feed designed to get animals to market weight as quickly as possible. They’re loaded onto semis and hauled by the truckload to one of the “Big Four” packers (Tyson, Cargill, JBS, National Beef).

Those packing plants process thousands of animals a day. Labor is still very much human-driven (though automation and robotics are increasingly used in certain areas like cutting or packaging). The scale is enormous, and because of that, the cost per pound of beef stays very low.

That system makes meat affordable and widely available — something that matters for many families.

Small-Scale, Direct-to-Consumer Farming

Our model looks different.

We raise cattle on pasture, and today we maintain about 150 acres of pasture (and land isn’t cheap). Instead of hauling 50 head at once, we trailer just a few cattle at a time. Our USDA-inspected processor is an hour away, so every animal we take requires a four-hour round trip — once to drop them off and once again to pick up the packaged beef. Fuel, time, and labor are very real costs — and they’re spread over a much smaller number of animals.

Once processed, our beef is packaged in vacuum sealed packaging and clearly labeled. We then bring it back to our own freezers and sell it directly to you. Our goal isn’t to raise “cheap beef.” It’s to raise steakhouse-quality beef that’s flavorful, tender, and humanely raised.

Why Prices Vary Between Farmers

Even among small farms, prices can look very different. The farmer down the road may raise beef too, and their prices might be higher or lower than ours. Why? Because every farm has its own costs, practices, and choices. A few examples:

Feed costs: Some farmers feed only grass and hay. Others supplement with grain, which can swing in price from year to year. Still others use alternative feeds like brewers’ grain or byproducts. Each option comes with different costs — and different growth rates for the cattle.
Land costs: Pasture-raised cattle require acres of land, which has to be purchased, taxed, and maintained (and land isn’t cheap). Other farmers may keep cattle in barns or confined areas, which lowers land costs but changes how animals are raised.
Processing: If a farmer only sells beef within their state, they may be able to use a closer state-inspected processor. Since we sell across state lines, we’re required to use a USDA processor an hour away — which means more time and fuel per trip.
Finishing practices: Growth hormones or certain breeds can bring cattle to market weight more quickly. And quicker often equals cheaper. On our farm, we don’t use growth hormones, and we choose slower, more natural finishing.
Sales model: Farmers selling by the half or quarter usually have customers pick up their beef directly from the processor. That means the farmer doesn’t have to store the meat. Farmers like us who sell individual cuts keep multiple freezers running year-round, and electricity isn’t cheap.
On our farm, we even choose to pay extra for extended dry-aging on our rib and loin cuts, because our goal is steakhouse-quality beef. Another farmer might choose differently, and that’s okay.

That’s why it’s so important to get to know your farmer. When you understand how and why your food was raised — and the decisions behind it — the price tag starts to make sense.

The Bigger Picture

So, why does farm-to-table cost more? Because the costs of land, care, transportation, and small-batch processing can’t be spread out over thousands of animals. Every pound carries the true cost of raising food with intention. Large-scale agriculture keeps food affordable and accessible, and that’s valuable. But small-scale farming creates something different: quality you can taste, transparency you can trust, and dollars that stay in your community.

Both systems have their place. For some, the priority is cost. For others, it’s knowing their food was raised humanely, locally, and with intention.

Farm-to-table is for the people who want to know their farmer, know their food, and know that their dollars are strengthening their own community.

💛 And to us, that’s worth every penny.

If you’d like to understand pricing even more, [this post] explains what it takes to raise a turkey on our farm — and why Walmart can price theirs at $0.99/lb.

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