Why Local Beef Is Worth It: Understanding Pricing Beyond the Grocery Store
If it feels like beef has gotten more expensive lately, you’re not imagining it. Prices are climbing across the country — not just in grocery stores, but at the farm level too.
As cattle farmers, we want to help you understand where those numbers come from and why local, ethically raised beef isn’t just a better product… it’s often a better value than what you’re buying at restaurants and fast-food chains.
Let’s break it down.
✅ Auction Prices Are Rising FAST
Auction prices — what farmers pay for young cattle — have jumped significantly.
📈 Livestock Auction Prices:
Yearling Steer (≈700 lbs)Aug. 2024 $2.20 – $2.30/lbNov. 2025 $2.50 – $3.35/lb
That means a 700-lb steer that cost ~$1,610 last August could now cost $2,345+.
These price increases push costs up for every farmer, especially small, pasture-based operations.
So when you see prices rising on farm-raised beef, this is a big reason why — the cost to acquire and raise the animal is simply higher.
✅ Fast-Food Beef Costs More Than You Think
We tend to feel like fast food is cheap…
But when you break it down by pound, it’s shockingly expensive.
Here’s what you’re paying per pound of beef in popular fast-food items:
🍔 Fast Food Cost Per Pound
Restaurant Item Cost/Lb McDonald’sQuarter Pounder$15.62/lb Taco BellBeef Taco$23.45/lb Wendy’sSingle$19.56/lb Burger KingWhopper$16.76/lb
Meanwhile…
✅ Our Ground Beef → ~$12/lb
So you can pay:
• $23/lb at Taco Bell
for mystery beef with additives…
…OR
• ~$12/lb for local, Non-GMO, clean beef
raised humanely on pasture, processed in a local shop — not an industrial factory.
When you look at it objectively, our beef is a better product for LESS money per pound.
✅ Local Farm Beef = Better Value
Here’s what you get when you buy from a small farm:
✔ Non-GMO
✔ Humanely raised
✔ Pasture-centered diet
✔ No feedlots, no confinement
✔ No factory processing
✔ Dry-aged flavor
✔ Transparency
✔ Local economy support
✔ Cleaner, richer flavor
Every step — from birth to butcher — is handled with care, not assembly-line speed.
You see where your food comes from.
You meet the people raising it.
You know it’s processed in small-batch local facilities, not massive industrial plants.
That’s value.
✅ The Hidden Cost of Cheap Beef
When beef is produced as cheaply as possible, something — or someone — pays the price:
✘ Animal welfare
✘ Environmental impact
✘ Processing cleanliness
✘ Nutrition
✘ Flavor
You’re paying less upfront, but you get:
• Lower nutritional value
• More fillers
• Higher fat/water injection
• Less transparency
Cheap beef is cheap for a reason.
✅ So… why does local beef cost more than grocery store beef?
• Higher cost of the animal
• Slower growing, pasture-based genetics
• Higher feed + mineral quality
• Humane handling
• Local butchering (not industrial)
• Living wages for hands-on work
But when you compare it to fast-food pricing, it’s actually an incredible deal.
✅ The Bottom Line
You’re not just buying beef.
You’re buying:
✅ Better nutrition
✅ Better flavor
✅ Better treatment of animals
✅ Cleaner processing
✅ A relationship with your farmer
✅ Local economic support
And amazingly…
You’re still paying LESS per pound than fast food.
We believe that matters — and we think you do too.
If you’re ready to taste the difference, reach out.
We’d love to fill your freezer with beef you can feel good about.
📩 Contact us anytime
📍 Raymond, OH
