Processors

Connecting Cattle Producers and Beef Wholesalers Through Supply Chain Management

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 18:59:55 GMT

For producers or groups of producers wanting to sell directly into wholesale beef channels, three big issues have created challenges to the marketplace: scale, balancing the carcass and logistics.

“If you have a steakhouse that has to buy hundreds of ribeyes every single week, it’s probably pretty hard to find many producers who are going to be able to fulfill that procurement spec weekly,” says Farmshare CEO Henry Arrowood. “No. 2 is balancing of the carcass — you might find a restaurant that wants to buy all your primes, but what are you doing with the rest of that carcass? And No. 3 is the logistics — how do I actually get the animal to the processing facility, secure a slot, secure the cut order, then get that product out into the hands of the buyer? That is exactly what our platform does.”

Arrowood shared on a recent AgriTalk episode about how the system provides a way for wholesale buyers to connect with smaller producers who can offer local, differentiated and value-added products.

“If a set of producers match the parameters of what the bid of the buy side is looking for, we start to show them these opportunities that they can participate in,” Arrowood says. “We show them the price point at which the customer is looking to purchase. We show them the target product and volume that they’re looking for, and then we aggregate that supply into an order and route it to one of our processing facilities for manufacturing.”

Finding a market for the entire carcass has remained a challenge to the smaller, regional producers who want to sell meat. Until now.

“Big packers have become these efficiency machines where they’ve been able to create all these different market opportunities to balance the carcass and create, good returns across the entire animal. That doesn’t exist on a small scale,” Arrowood says. “It’s really hard for any given producer to go out and create similar opportunities for the entirety of their carcass. That is what we’re doing.”

By using artificial intelligence, Arrowood says the company creates pricing models and yield distribution models to price optimize the entire animal for the end producer. If one buyer claims the ribeyes, the system figures out additional buyers for the strips, tenderloins, ground beef, etc., he says.

“It’s our responsibility to create a diversified set of customers on the buy side that we can move this product to, school systems, hospitals, really good targets for us in terms of moving that ground product,” Arrowood explains. “There’s a lot of restaurant groups that are looking for a different product than they might be able to get through the institutional food service companies. So, that’s where we’re moving some of that prime product.”

The idea for Farmshare came to Arrowood when he experienced the challenges in the beef supply chain firsthand.

“During the pandemic, I left San Francisco and moved out to a cattle ranch in Montana, and that’s where I am right now. And it didn’t take me long, when I got to this seventh-generation cow-calf operation, to realize there were some pretty deep inefficiencies in the supply chain and that of every dollar that I or any other city slicker was spending on meat in the grocery store, only 14 cents was making its way back to a producer’s pocket.”

As a tech pro, Arrowood began imagining what could be done to create more streamlined distribution that would give fair financials back to the end producer and help independent processors.

“I think that technology serves a very unique and interesting opportunity to rethink the way in which meat travels throughout the value chain, and the money that ultimately gets back into the hands the people who do the work,” Arrowood says.

Farmshare works with processors in more than 25 states across the country and is ready to expand its reach.

“We like to think of ourselves as bringing modern tooling to the independent processor,” Arrowood says. “For maybe the first time, we’ve built a set of tools for the independent processor that help to increase efficiency and maximize the throughput of their plant and ultimately drive them towards doing greater capacity within their facility.”

By automating and streamlining several manual processes and complexities that exist for processors today, Arrowood says the system can mitigate the amount of phone calls, paper pushing and filing that an independent locker has to go through in order to successfully manage their business.

“Our customers are saving five to seven hours per day on all the administrative sort of burden and complexity of their business,” he says.

He says packers have a lot of efficiencies, technology and staff to help them future proof their businesses.

“What we’re doing is building that as a shared resource and shared set of infrastructures that we can then sort of co-op out into the ecosystem for the independent processor,” Arrowood says.

This management system creates opportunities for efficiency throughout the supply chain while keeping the marketing between the buyer and the seller. Within the Farmshare system, the animal does not change ownership to the processor and the restaurant connects directly with a group of independent processors.

“We’re facilitating the transaction between those two parties,” Arrowood says. “We’ve used this network of independent processors as the manufacturing layer to actually turn that animal into a consumable product.”

Your next read: Considerations for Feeding Cattle Through Drought

GOP Lawmakers Want Answers from USDA Over Pure Prairie's Bankruptcy

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 17:33:08 GMT

Republican lawmakers have called on USDA to provide explanations regarding the oversight of Pure Prairie Poultry, Inc., which filed for bankruptcy shortly after receiving substantial USDA funding. The situation has raised concerns about the department’s management of grants and loans, as well as its impact on farmers and the poultry industry.

A group of Senators, including Sen. Jonie Ernst (R-Iowa), sent a letter to USDA this week.

As AgDay reported on Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Agriculture euthanized roughly 1.33 million chickens.
That’s after Pure Prairie Poultry said in late September that due to its bankruptcy, it could no longer afford to buy feed for its flock living on 14 Iowa farms. It’s estimated the process cost USDA $2 million.

The company also contracted with farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota who were also affected.

Company Received $45 Million from USDA

Ernst says Pure Prairie Poultry was only in business for a few short years, and in that time, she says the company received $45 million dollars in grants and loans from USDA .

Nearly $7 million of that was from USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion program.
The company also received a $38.7-million loan from USDA’s Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program , which is part of President Biden’s “ Build Back Better ” plan.

According to a White House Fact Sheet , this was tied to the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to promote competition in the American economy and “create a fairer, more resilient, and more dynamic economy.”

The $45 million was used by Pure Prairie Poultry to help expand and renovate a shuttered processing plant in Charles City, Iowa. USDA issued a press release in July of 2024 to celebrate the investments.

Lawmakers’ Demands

According to the lawmakers’ letter, which is demanding accountability and answers, close to 2-million chickens were “left without feed or any processing option.”

The letter requests explanations on several key points:

The oversight process for loan and grant guarantees
USDA’s awareness of Pure Prairie Poultry’s financial situation
Steps taken to assist affected growers and state agriculture departments
Efforts to salvage the Charles City plant

In the letter, lawmakers said, “Over the past two years, USDA has provided $223 million in loan guarantees and grants to 30 meat and poultry processing companies. A press release from the USDA celebrated this funding as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ‘commitment to strengthen critical food supply chain infrastructure to create more thriving communities for the American people.’ Unfortunately, this investment has instead resulted in the loss of income, jobs, and poultry across three states.”

“Pure Prairie Poultry’s abrupt closure shows the importance of proper vetting and oversight at USDA to ensure the agency’s multi-million dollar grants and loans are actually helping producers, rather than being flushed down the drain and harming entire rural communities in the process,” Ernst says. “Encouraging the growth of meat processing and strengthening our supply chain is a cause I can support, but this lack of accountable spending hurts our farmers, livestock, and taxpayers.”

USDA Defends Grants an Programs

A USDA spokesperson defended the department’s programs, saying they have worked to “rebuild and create new markets for U.S. farmers” after challenges posed by trade wars and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The spokesperson also urged lawmakers to focus on passing the overdue farm bill: “Rather than trying to score political points, those members of Congress should work with USDA to reopen the facility and pass a new Farm Bill, which is now two years late.”

More Background on Pure Prairie Poultry

More than 1 million birds had to be culled in Iowa due to the company’s inability to care for them.
Contracted farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota were also affected.
According to the lawmakers’ letter, approximately 2 million chickens were “left without feed or any processing option.”

The lawmakers have requested USDA respond to their questions by Nov. 8.

Your Next Read: Senator Stabenow “Holds The Keys” to the Farm Bill Getting Done in 2024

Status Quo is Not the Goal for This Wyoming Young Dairy Producer

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 20:23:37 GMT

When you think of Wyoming you often think of scenic mountain views, roaming wild buffalo and a romanticized cowboy way of life. Generally, you don’t think of dairies. Although, travel to Carpenter, Wy., and you’ll see two-thirds of the state’s 9,000 dairy cows, who are milked at Burnett Dairy. You’ll also get to see an upcoming second-generation dairy farmer, Reese Burnett, who simply couldn’t imagine his life anywhere else, but in his home state of Wyoming, milking cows along with his family for a living. Reese’s goal is to not let grass grow under his feet, as he is enthusiastic to help drive his family’s dairy forward.

Unique Upbringing

Reese’s grandparents had a small cow-calf operation, along with dryland wheat, an hour north of Greeley, Colo. The family farm grew and diversified, including custom feeding cattle and running small feedlots. In the early 2000s, when mad cow Disease hit, the Burnetts were challenged with finding customers for their feedlot that forced them to change direction.

“This is what pushed my parents into the dairy business,” he says. “They started by renting a neighboring dairy in 2004, milking 200 cows. A year later they started Burnett Dairy and today milk 6,200 cows in a 110-cow GEA rotary.”

Reese left Wyoming and headed to Kansas State for college in 2018. When he returned home to the family farm, he spent a lot of time on genetics, herd health and nutrition. Over time, he has added additional responsibilities, including sharing the employee management.

“I’m very fortunate. My mom and dad and uncle have given me a lot of freedom in my work and have really allowed me to take off and do some fun things with our dairy,” he says.

For example, Reese quickly saw that milking the entire herd 3x a day was too much for the parlor to keep up with. He recommended milking more cows and shared that the majority still could get milked three times a day, with the remainder twice daily. Running 22.5 out of 24 hours and shutting down twice a day for a wash cycle, Reese shares that now the parlor is running at capacity.

Challenges Presented

Like many dairies, Burnett Dairy is no exception to challenges. Weather extremes—going from 95-degree summers that require irrigation to grow crops to sub-zero temperatures in the winter challenge Wyoming farms. Reese says that the dry heat is tolerable for the cows. Winters can be especially brutal, as he shares this past winter dropped 40 degrees in 30 minutes.

With Cheyenne an hour away, the Burnetts house all their employees, as it is too far away to commute them to work. With the magnitude of the dairy shipping seven semi-loads of milk each day and the new technology of the carrousel, including the two robots in the entry that pre-dip and clean teats, as well as a robot on the back side of the deck that sprays a post-dip, the family has become savvy at diagnosing problems, as a service call is timely.

Working With Family

Reese could never imagine not working on the family dairy farm. The discussion unfolded about him coming back to the operation, but the family knew 3,000 cows wasn’t going to be sustainable for them to support another family member. This is what spurred the expansion in 2019.

Although for Reese to come back to the farm, there were two requirements—obtain a four-year degree and work for someone else.

“We never had a sit-down meeting, but Dad and I would ride in the pickup, and we’d bring up the conversation and visit about it,” he says. “The biggest key was establishing trust from both sides.”

Three summers during college Reese found somewhere else to work, conducting internships with Royal Farms Dairy, a 6,000-cow dairy in Garden City, Kan., and Dairy Nutrition Management Company based out of Fort Collins, Colo., and WinStar Genetics in Shelley, Idaho, where he learned more about how to ultrasound cows.

“I think it’s super important to go see other dairies and get experience working on other farms,” Reese says, sharing that his experience working for Royal Farms Dairy outlined the importance of being disciplined to maintain details.

“If you want to be an above-average dairy, you have to pay attention to the details. And make sure even the smallest details are 100% every day,” he says.

His father agreed that three internships gave Reese a wealth of experience despite the original plan for Reese to work somewhere else after graduating college. He returned home in December 2021, as the dairy was quickly growing and there was now a spot for Reese.

Growing from milking 3,000 cows in a double-35 parallel to milking 6,200 in a 110-cow rotary, Burnett Dairy saw considerable changes that unfolded while Reese was away at college. The young Wyoming dairy producer shares that most of his ‘real’ education came after graduating college.

“I think that education is super important. I think college gives you a good foundation of science and why we do what we do. But the real education comes after school when you say, ‘Alright, this is what I learned in school, and how can I apply that every day on the farm,’” he says.

Reese shares that it took a lot of humility coming back as the owner’s son and being a recent college graduate.

“I pictured myself spending a lot of time managing cows and less time managing people,” he says, sharing that he understands you cannot be complacent about being good and must be driven to better yourself and your business. He underscores a key to success can be found outside of the farm office and in the barns.

“It’s good to have ownership on the ground with the cows,” he says. “That’s something I never want to lose part of.”

Future Plans

Burnett Dairy doesn’t plan to increase size right now, but they are breaking ground on three new calf barns to give them enough room to raise their beef-on-dairy crossbred calves. The family sees a continued value-added profit line in raising these calves and Reese shares that they plan to raise them all the way to slaughter.

While technology is intriguing to Reese, as his parlor is one of the largest rotaries in the world, he cautions other young producers not to put the cart in front of the horse.

“Don’t adopt the technology before it’s ready,” he says. “The biggest thing that my family looks at before adopting any technology is understanding how it will help our bottom line.”

The best piece of advice Reese offers to new graduates who are returning home to their family dairy is to have patience.

“Be patient with your time, be respectful to of all the years and service that the employees there have put in there,” he says. “You can learn from them, too.”

Glory to God

While managing cows and employees occupy a lot of Reese’s time, he says his biggest key to success is having a very faith-focused family.

“Family and God are our number one priority,” he says. “Being able to work together with family has allowed us to grow as much as we have these last couple of years.”

Reese and his wife, Hannah are expecting their first daughter in August, and they are excited to raise her on a faith-based family dairy farm.

“I loved growing up on my family farm. I was four years old when we started milking cows and I just have so many good memories working on the farm with my father,” he says.

Listen to UpLevel’s podcast with Reese Burnett:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5a7HIiD4hpCVcsD9zIQyPP?si=2XZR8mAtTDOdtumgFh6WEw

Derecho Damage Forces Dairy Farmer to Relocate 1,700 Cows Overnight – A Not-So-Easy Feat

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 18:44:12 GMT

The damage that hit eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota after last week’s derecho – a large-scale windstorm with 90-to 100-mph straight winds, blasted the area. Unfortunately, the damage is still being felt by many farmers throughout the region.

Todd Heitkamp, meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said that the most severe damage hit parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

“The damage is extensive, but it could have been a lot worse,” Heitkamp said.

In Estelline, Global Dairy can’t really imagine it being much worse after they received a gut punch when the derecho plowed through its farm. The storm’s impact took out their main parallel parlor that milks 1,700 cows after its roof collapsed. Altogether, Global Dairy milks 2,800 cows in one of two milking parlors. No injuries were reported, but the dairy’s main parlor was immediately put out of service.

Meanwhile, those 1,700 cows still needed a place to be milked twice daily.

Victory Farms to the Rescue

Kevin Souza, owner of Victory Farms in Milbank, says the storm just produced wind and rain and didn’t impact his farm very much. Souza and his family milked on an older facility until November 2015, when they built a new farm nine miles away. Today, Victory Farms milks 5,500 cows.

After the storm came through, Souza received some text messages that showed pictures of the damage at Global Dairy. He then immediately reached out to Arjan Blok, one of Global Dairy’s owners to see if there was anything they could do to help.

“They told me, ‘Yeah, we need a place to milk 1,700 cows,’” Souza said.

The duo has had a longstanding relationship and Souza had a double-30 parallel milking parlor and free stall barn that once milked 3,000 cows sitting empty.

“We had some heifers housed there, but the parlor wasn’t being used,” he says. “We ran the wash cycle weekly for two years after we stopped milking at the old parlor to keep it in good shape.”

Good Odds

The odds of finding one location to house and milk 1,700 cows were slim, but Global Dairy was immensely grateful that they found a location big enough to take in all the cows impacted by the storm.

Souza reports their dairies are located 48 miles apart. “So, not super close. It’s kind of a haul.”

Twenty semis showed up after Suzanne Souza, Kevin’s wife, began asking on social media if anyone could help haul cows. And help they did.

“It took about 40 semi loads to get all the cattle hauled from Global Dairy to our old farm,” Souza reports.

The cows were a bit noisy coming off their trailers and took some time to adjust to their temporary new home. Souza said the first few milkings took a bit of work to get the cows through the parlor, even though they both milk in parallel parlors.

“They have been through a lot,” he shared. “It took a few milkings of having to push cows through the parlors, but they’ve adjusted fine.”

Souza couldn’t just flip a switch to begin milking in a parlor that had been vacant for six and half years. He got in contact with their dairy equipment dealer, Valley Dairy Supply and asked if it was possible to start milking again.

“We hadn’t got rid of any of the equipment in the parlor,” Souza reports. “Everything was intact.”

Within six hours, the parlor was up and running and soon Global Dairy’s cows were milked at Victory Farms’ original farm.

Victory Farms moved their heifers into empty corrals to free up space to house Global Dairy’s cows.

Global Dairy brought their own employees down to Millbank to begin milking cows.

Souza reports that trucks are racking up miles, as Global Dairy hauls feed up to Millbank to feed their cows.

“They’re loading silage and haylage and stuff and getting it trucked here,” Souza adds.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Not sure of an exact timeframe, Souza says it could take six to eight months, or maybe a year before Global Dairy’s parlor is back up and running.

“It doesn’t matter how long,” Souza says. “Arjan is one of those guys that is always willing to help others out. So, when he called needing help, it was a pretty easy decision to help him out because he’s that type of person to everyone else.”

In the meantime, Victory Farms is helping mix feed to ensure Global Dairy’s cattle are fed, but shares that once they get an employee trained to feed, they’ll take over from there.

“It takes a team of people to make it all work. My employees, my son-in-law, our hoof trimmer and our manager all spent about two days helping them out,” he says.

Souza reports that Global Dairy has started hauling feeding equipment in.

Global Dairy’s milk goes to Valley Queen, located seven miles away from the vacant dairy that now houses their cows.

Souza reports that additional dairies were also impacted by the storm, stating Hammink Dairy located in Bruce, S.D., also lost its rotary parlor’s roof.

Souza asks for no praise; just say this is what neighbors do. Global Dairy also thanked everyone for helping out and realizes it truly takes a team to run a dairy, especially after losing its milking parlor unexpectedly after the storm.

Evan Grong the transportation and milk procurement manager with Valley Queen said while there were no interruptions to processing or milk hauling at Valley Queen, storm damage across the region did cause interruptions at the farm level that required a couple of their producers to relocate cows or make alternative arrangements, and some of that milk was not able to be sold.

“In spite of the destruction some producers faced, they worked incredibly quickly to find solutions for their herds,” Grong says. “All cows on our supplying dairy farms were being milked within 24 hours after the storm.”