San Diego County rancher Doug Lindamood, of SonRise Ranch says their business has easily tripled since the pandemic began. Plant closures and issues with national corporate meat producers as well as consumer desire for food safety and bulk food purchases have prompted people and businesses to seek local sources.
Lindamood told 10 News that SonRise Ranch has typically sold 10-12 half or full beef a year, but they are now selling that amount on a weekly basis.
While SonRise is grateful for the business, they are concerned about their ability to meet demand on a long-term basis. The U.S. receives the majority of its meat supply from a handful of highly consolidated companies, when they are hit with staffing or livestock issues it can have a crippling effect on the national supply chain.
“For every one of those small plants that shut down over the last 20 or 30 years, we lost a small piece of our soul with respect to connecting to our consumers,” Lindamood said. “We need not one or 10 of me — which there are maybe five or six of us in the Southern California region. We need 50 or 60 or 200 of us.”
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