I think people are getting the idea that “Regenerative” means “Organic++” or something, and it’s going to cost more money. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let me try to break down the argument why you should spend less to get more with regenerative products.
First, the reason why so many farmers are excited about regenerative agriculture is not because they have a fancy new gizmo that they can sell their customers. No, they are finally able to make a profit on their land! Go see for yourself what people are telling farmers about regenerative agriculture and you’ll see time and again the strongest advocates saying things like “You can make a profit”, “You can change the direction of your farm”, etc…
Regenerative agriculture is NOT about the products we will produce. It’s about restoring life to the soil. If the soil is alive, we can grow crops and grass and whatever else we want to without adding fertilizers and tilling and such. In fact, that was the reason why our soil was dying or plain dead.
If we don’t have to buy stuff to plant our crops and grow our pastures, then that means we don’t have to spend money. And if we don’t have to spend money, then we can bring our products to market, sell them at a lower price, and still make money.
The truth about the regenerative movement is that we are trying to grow our soil so that we can still turn a profit even when prices are down.
Now, with that said, you’re going to have a hard time finding food marketed as regenerative for lower prices. The reason isn’t because it’s not cheaper to produce (it absolutely is) but because of the supply chain issues. See, when you go to Wal-Mart to buy a steak, you’re buying the end product of not just a farmer’s hard work but an entire supply chain. Wal-Mart and other companies don’t buy their cattle at the sale barn. They contract with ranchers to produce a certain number of cattle, and they set standards for what kind of cattle they want and how much they will pay. Once the cattle are grown, they are shipped off to the nearest Wal-Mart processing facility, where they are slaughtered and processed and then distributed throughout the world to end up on Wal-Mart shelves as meat.
If you want to buy my animals and eat them, we’re going to have to replace all of that work to get your steaks on your table. I don’t have access to a world-renowned supply chain. I am not butchering thousands of cattle every day and able to take advantage of every little shortcut to save money on it.
However, if you plan on buying a cow, and you buy that cow from a regenerative farmer, you can expect he can undercut everyone else and still turn a profit. If you buy your meat on websites from independent farmers, the regenerative guys should be able to get it to you for a lower price.
If you want to get regenerative beef on your plate, you’re either going to have to convince Wal-Mart (or Costco or McDonald’s) to change how they grow their beef, or change the regulation structure and economy so that they buy their cows from local sale barns, or direct from growers like me. Or, you’ll just have to learn how to buy direct from farmers.
Because regenerative means money savings, I suspect one day soon the Wal-Marts of the world will gradually shift over to regenerative guys because they can save money. And when that starts happening, I suspect you’ll see the price of beef fall a little bit. The fact that the beef will be packed full of nutrients will be secondary.
These are my thoughts on the topic. One day I hope to sell beef over this website, or take advantage of whatever “loopholes” will make that possible to get the beef to you at a low price. I am not counting on my beef to taste better or be nutritious and thus market it as such to the consume. Even though it is true, I am going to sell it at the lowest price I can, and undercut all the conventional farmers until they switch to regenerative too.