LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – For more than 70 years, the Hale family in Wolfforth has sold locally sourced meat to the community.
The Trump administration is now allowing imported beef into the U.S. without tariffs, a move meant to ease rising meat prices.
“In my opinion, the quality here is way above anything anywhere else,” Hale said. “Like I said, we have fat cattle here, so it has the marbling. We have the USDA, we have different departments that watch over everything to ensure that everything we do is safe for the consumer.”
With imported meat, the origin and handling of the cow can become a concern. Large meat producers are working to process beef as quickly as possible.
“The smaller guy does have a harder time keeping up with price, but you’re going to get a whole lot better quality,” Hale said. “You’re going to know exactly where that meat came from. When you’re buying hamburger meat, it came from one cow, not 100 different cows mixed together.”
Transparency builds relationships
Hale said transparency, knowing how the cattle were raised, matters most with locally sourced meat. Hale said that transparency builds relationships with ranchers that mass-production plants can’t match.
Cody Black owns Black Hills Lamb and Cattle in Muleshoe. He has supplied cattle to All Hale Meats for a year.
“Buying local beef from local ranchers allows you to get to know the producers who can give you the whole history of the background of the animal and you know what you’re getting is a good clean product,” Black said.
Why buyers choose local
That transparency is exactly why John Cobble buys locally. Cobble wants to know his beef has no added growth hormones. Buying local also keeps his money in the community.
“When I go to a large box store, you don’t know what you’re going to get,” Cobble said. “The meat, these guys here, I trust them, right? So, it’s a much better relationship and it’s probably a lot better food.”
Hale said imported beef moves so fast through production, it never gets the two weeks of aging needed to develop flavor and tenderness.
Ultimately, it’s up to shoppers to decide what’s best for their family.
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