Why buying local matters now more than ever
It’s good for small-scale farmers, your family, the environment and food security
Many of us have long understood the importance of sourcing our food locally. Not only does it create much-needed local jobs, but it also generates economic advantages by recirculating more funds (spending and taxes) back into our economy. It reduces our environmental footprint by decreasing fuel and emissions in transportation, and by supporting small family businesses using regenerative agriculture practices—lessening demand for mass industrialized agriculture. Finally, local regeneratively produced agriculture products have a much higher nutritional value.
Existence of small family farms threatened in pandemic
The rise of coronavirus hit small farms hard. Reduced restaurant demand meant an increased waste of perishable products. In the beef sector, we have seen horrific outbreaks at large meat processing facilities which have seriously impacted beef processing capacity. As a result, producers haven’t had the ability to sell their product as they normally would, and therefore have held their cattle longer. This increases operating costs at the same time that beef commodity prices have hit a 10-year low, not reflected in the supermarket prices. To add fuel to the fire, a typical beef producer only sells their product a few times a year. When the time the pandemic hit, an average producer wouldn't have had any cash inflow for 4-6 months.
All of these issues combined threaten the existence of the small family farm. These farms are not only a family's livelihood and legacy, but they also protect our environment and undisturbed grasslands from industrialization and mass agriculture. Grasslands naturally absorb C02 through photosynthesis. When grasslands are tilled or developed a significant portion of soil carbon oxidizes and releases CO2 back into the environment. Additionally wildlife habitat and native plant species are eliminated.
This is not just another “poor farmer” worry—it impacts our environment and all of us directly.
A comparative threat can be made to the BSE crisis in 2003. The economic impact on ranchers at that time was so severe that Canada lost approximately 27,000 ranching operations, and as a result approximately five million acres of grassland was converted to tilled farm land. Once this happens, it can never be undone. According to Ducks Unlimited Canada CEO Karla Guyn, “... the actions that impact cattle grasslands, wetlands and wildlife all go hand in hand. And without a successful beef industry, conservation in Canada will not continue at the rate or the scale it is so desperately needed.”
Food security — supporting your local source
With grocery shelves cleaned out, new conversations about local food security and the reliance on global supply chain are taking place. We have seen during this pandemic that Alberta’s local beef supply has been diminished, replaced by American imports and some supply from eastern provinces. With concerned consumers looking for instant delivery and ability to stock up, large multinationals have been the ones to profit as Costco and Amazon are at all-time record sales.
It can’t be more clear — NOW is the time to deglobalize!
Small farmers need your support now more than ever
As part of the community of small farmers and ranchers based in Southern Alberta we ask you to consider us, feverishly working through the pandemic, calving cows, planting vegetables and crops, producing local dairy products, doing our part to ensure food safety, security and quality.
We are blessed with the local options in Alberta, so let’s support them! Take advantage of your local Farmer’s Markets, farm direct sales and community supported agriculture.
At Burke Creek Ranch, we raise quality grass fed and finished beef, and have the opportunity to market frozen beef that will not perish. However, our ability to meet the consumer demand is restricted right now, as the demand on the small local butcher shops has hit a record high. We ask for your patience as you place your orders and add your name to our waitlist. We aim to serve your family’s needs as soon as we can. With doorstep delivery or centralized pickup, this is the safest shopping option.
Thank you for supporting local. Please share this message with your friends and family.