It’s not just the land that’s eroding—it’s everything tied to it. The farms. The families. The herds. The heritage. Unless something radical changes, this collapse will continue in silence, buried under USDA spreadsheets and corporate feed contracts.
But there are ranchers fighting to rebuild. Not just their own operations—but the entire food system. One of them is Bernie Hansen, a cattleman, processor, and regenerative innovator with over 30 years in the trenches. What he’s building at BetterFedFoods could serve as a template for local beef revival across the country.
The Collapse Came Quietly
“It went to hell in a hand basket,” said Hansen about the 1980s farm crisis. He’s not exaggerating. Since 1982, the U.S. has lost over 500,000 farms—nearly one in four. In just the last five years, 141,000 vanished, per the USDA Census of Agriculture. What replaced them? Monopolies.
Meanwhile, debt has surged. Interest on farm operating loans is at a 25-year high of nearly 8%, while delinquency rates have climbed to over 2% at commercial banks—levels unseen since the early 2010s—according to Federal Reserve surveys and ERS data. The math doesn’t work: $3.90 corn and $2 million combines are a recipe for bankruptcy, not prosperity .
Then came the 2025 shutdown. The USDA’s contingency plan halted all new loans, payments, and label approvals. American ranchers—already hanging by a thread—were deemed “non-essential.” But foreign beef kept flowing. Subsidies stayed intact—for the packers.
The Human Cost
“We wanted to fill in for our grandparents,” said Breeauna Sagdal, senior writer and researcher at the Beef Initiative. “But we inherited a broken system—economically and biologically.”
That’s not just sentiment. It’s data. According to the CDC’s NVDRS, suicide rates among farmers are 3.5x the national average. Among male farmers? Even higher.
The government’s food priorities are wildly out of sync:
- SNAP outlays topped $119 billion in 2024, double pre-2020 levels .
- Nearly 60% of SNAP spending goes to ultra-processed food .
- Only ~$1.5 billion per year supports regenerative outcomes via EQIP and NRCS programs .
More people are buying junk—and fewer are growing real food. That’s how you lose a nation.
The Turning Point: BetterFedFoods
Bernie Hansen knows this first-hand. After decades in processing, he pivoted in 2015—buying a defunct locker plant and turning it into a proving ground for nutrient-dense beef and omega-balanced feed. Today, BetterFedFoods integrates microalgae into regenerative protocols, targeting fertility, immune strength, and marbling—without feedlot hormones or synthetic growth agents.
Backed by company trials and K-State studies, preliminary results show:
- +29.2 lbs average carcass weight gain.
- 15% fertility boost in test herds.
- 1:1 omega-6:3 ratios, compared to 20:1 feedlot baseline.
- 20% death loss reduction in stress-prone cattle.
Are these peer-reviewed? Not yet. But they’re more transparent than what JBS or Tyson will show you.
Feeding the Narrative, Not the Nation
The 2018 Farm Bill, extended through FY2025, allocates approximately $428 billion over five years, with less than 1% directly supporting regenerative practices within programs like EQIP. Meanwhile, Elanco’s SEC filings show $100/ton carbon credits for feed additives like Bovaer, which cut methane—but do nothing for soil or nutrition.
We’re paying for carbon optics—not food sovereignty.
The Rebuild Starts Here
The U.S. cattle herd has dropped over 2 million head since 2020 . But we don’t just need more cattle—we need better systems to raise them.
That means traceable, biologically intelligent beef—not commodity trash rebranded with a patriotic sticker. It means ranchers getting paid for the nutrient density of their beef—not just the weight on a scale. It means local infrastructure, not consolidation. Real food, not subsidies for Froot Loops.
It starts by asking a better question: Who do you trust to feed you?
Find local, verified, nutrient-dense beef at BeefMaps.com.
Learn more about BetterFedFoods at BetterFedFoods.com.
Are you rancher looking to increase the health of your herd? Learn more about BetterFedFood’s Great O Plus Omega Cattle Feed.
Because rebuilding America starts with rebuilding the herd.
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