Hi Folks!

 

This is probably one of the hardest emails I have had to write to date.  For those of you that have been with us since the beginning you have made the journey and endured all the twists and turns.  And over the years we've done just that, blessed are the flexible for they won't be bent out of shape.  I know this email is long, but I promise it will be worth reading.  We have some HUGE changes coming to 2A Beef and we don't want you left out. 

 

When we started selling beef back in 2018 things were a little different. Heck, the world we lived in was quite different.  We've seen a lot and not to mention endured even more.  Our passion for raising cattle and beef is unwavering but sometimes how we do that might change and look different over the years.

 

Over the last year God has been working on our hearts.  He has definitely been pulling us in a different direction and one of those directions is to slow down a bit.  Riley is going to be starting school and the time we have with him is short and precious.  The current life we are living, leaves us so little time, and the burnout is real.  A huge thing that has been on my heart also is having enough of me to go around.  Being a good momma and wife is foremost.  And having enough time to be present and do homeschool the way I would like to has been nagging in the background. Believe me when I say, this decision to pivot has been one of the toughest I have had to make.  Many tears have been shed.  Our beef customers are like family, and feeling like you are letting someone down is the absolute worst.  But we only have this short time with our son, and after praying and praying about it, I think God is showing us what road to take. 

 

The other issue is with the ever increasing cost of doing business, it has made it almost impossible.  I know earlier this year we sent an email out explaining how our costs just continue to rise.  In order to continue selling beef as individual cuts and memberships, we would have to raise the cost of just our ground beef alone to nearly $16.  And I, in good faith just can't do that. With live beef cattle prices surpassing the retail beef prices it's left this industry and a hard impasse. 

 

The other thing we are currently staring down the barrel of is possibly losing where we feed our cattle out at.  With the Yerington data center development, there has been talk about our feed yard selling to a new owner and they would no longer feed outside cattle.  Which means, this will be the second time this has happened in a year and we will have NO where to go that makes economical sense. To try and build a feed yard and purchase feed commodities for the size of our operation, just isn't inline with what are hearts want to do.  Not to mention cost prohibitive. 

 

 

As hard as the decision has been for us to make, we have chose to pivot our business.  We will continue to sell beef but only as half and whole shares.  This will still allow us to provide customers with beef but just in a different manner.  I know shares are a huge financial commitment and space issue, but they are also a great way to save money on beef!  Plus if we lose our feedlot space, it's much easier to find a place for them to go because these cattle would go in all at one time, rather than cattle going in and out every single month.  Logistically it makes it simpler. This will also allow us to minimize so many of those nickel and dime you to death input costs and keep the price of beef where it should be, affordable. 

 

September will be the last month we offer memberships.  We will have our last regular online restock in September as well and beef will remain in The Valley Merc through October or when it completely sells out.  We will also be offering additional halves for customers online that will be ready in November of 2026.  They are currently live on the website.  So if you would like to stock up and fill the freezer this is a perfect time to do it.  If a half is too much we will also have plenty of ground to stock up on and whatever remaining individual cuts as well. We will continue selling all our individual cut inventory until it is sold out!

 

We are excited to say that The Valley Merc is staying within The Merc Family.  We will no longer own it after this year, but two of our vendors have decided to keep it's legacy going.  And I couldn't be more excited about that.

 

Once our individual cuts sell out we will no longer be carrying our beef in the store for now. The store has become like a second home, and makes me terribly sad to let go, but I feel God is pulling us a different direction.

 

 

You can absolutely still buy our beef and I hope you do.  We will continue to sell half and whole shares every year.  Like I mentioned there are half shares available right now for a November 2026 delivery.  We will be opening up half deposits again possibly this late fall and for sure again in March of 2027 for a fall 2027 delivery and again in the fall of 2027 for a 2028 delivery.  And that is the plan for the foreseeable future for now.  

 

And you never know we may go down the road  back to individual cuts as life changes and God pulls us in different directions.

 

I will still be sending out emails and updates as usual, they may just look a little different and you can always find us on social or email, text or phone!  And hey, maybe with a little extra time we could grab coffee or lunch.  And that is what I truly hope for.  Closing this chapter feels like a tremendous loss of family, and that's the part that makes it so difficult.

 

The other thing we are planning to do is raise and develop heifers.  Over the years you have probably seen me talk about the heifers we have bought and now are raising.  We want to raise females to sell as replacements for other ranchers.  Especially those that sell beef.  We have spent soooo much time on genetics and the leg work to know what works and doesn't.  We are wanting to offer that same quality of cattle to other ranches' beef programs.  This is another way we can diversify our business as well.  It also gets us back to our WHY.  We got into this business because we love raising cattle and all that goes with it.  It's time the good Lord is walking us back to it.

 

 

 

 

We are excited and nervous and scared and all the emotions, but I am a firm believer, God doesn't put things on your heart for no reason.  We deeply hope you will stay in touch and continue to buy 2A beef as shares!  And you never know, we may bring individual cuts back- it is us at the end of the day lol.  But for now shares it is, heifers we will be raising, and hopefully a chance to catch our breath.

 

 

I can't tell you how much we love and appreciate you all.  You made this very life of ours possible, but as hard as it has been to learn, you also can't pour from an empty cup.  

 

Here's to new beginnings, chapters ending, and the story continuing to unfold.

 

With so much love,

The Anderson's