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“The money and political power of Wall Street has stolen America’s food system, bankrupted our farmers and ranchers, mined our soils, polluted our environment, wasted our precious water, and left us with expensive industrially produced food that makes us sick.” – Occupy Wall Street Food Day, December 2011 -
Industrial Agriculture and Urban Sprawl – A model of growth that’s made to fail. -
Ranching Reboot Episode 4, Mike Callicrate “It’s time for a third revolution against monopolies”
Above: Ranching Reboot – Episode 4 – Mike Callicrate, owner of Ranch Foods Direct, sat down with us to talk about all manner of things from cattle markets, to public food spaces, the Bander, his feedlot and the pathway he built to market.
He shares valuable lessons learned from fighting against the commodity production system and how he’s built his own pathway to the consumer.
We talk about small community slaughter plants and public meat spaces and what that could look like going in to the future. We discuss environmental challenges, the food police and what it means when a Dollar General comes to town.
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- This Cattleman's Got A Beef
Photo: Sean Cayton - 2003People producing good food from happy animals, while improving the environment, shouldn’t have to fear the government.
Photo above featured in a 2003 article: This cattleman's got a beef, Mike Callicrate and Ranch Foods Direct take on the big meat packersby Kathryn Eastburn
Author Archives: Mike Callicrate
What’s the Beef? How the Beef Packing Cartel Hurts Producers and Consumers and How Independent Cattle Producers and Processors Can Help Restore Competition and Choice
Podcasts What’s the Beef? How the Beef Packing Cartel Hurts Producers and Consumers and How Independent Cattle Producers and Processors Can Help Restore Competition and Choice July 13, 2021 | Diana L. Moss , Mike Callicrate , Patrick Robinette Food … Continue reading
1996 South Dakota Governor’s Cattle Conference Fails to Prevent Industry Decline
In December of 1996, Governor William Janklow held a cattle conference in Pierre, South Dakota. Seven presenters were invited to discuss the state of the cattle industry before a crowd of around 1,000 people, from farm and ranch families to … Continue reading
The Current State of U.S. Agriculture and Food Infrastructure, and Solutions
By Mike Callicrate June 27, 2021 “Livestock should be at the center of the new farm and ranching operations. We need to think about how we build soil health, how we sequester carbon through well-manged grazing programs.” “We need to … Continue reading
No Competition Can Be Terrifying
Note: The following article first published nearly twenty years ago. Finally, after this week’s Senate hearing on meatpacking abuse, we are looking at possible solutions. By Mike Callicrate August 1, 2002 The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) asked the question … Continue reading
Has NCBA Become a Liability to the Big Meatpackers?
May 28, 2021 Since the formation of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in 1996, the big meatpackers have been invited to join NCBA and routinely gather in the same room along with NCBA’s members, leadership, and lobbyists – a … Continue reading
