Takeaways

• Farmers market customers are confused by the headlines about the border, the New World screwworm, and beef imports, and small ranchers like Jordan Classen are the front line answering those questions face to face.
• Many first-time buyers start with a single pound of ground beef, come back for a steak, and often end up buying a deep freezer for an eighth of a beef, which is why direct-to-consumer ranchers meet people wherever they are in the beef-buying journey.
• Schools receive commodity dollars that work almost like a voucher, and many spend them on protein without specific information on where the beef comes from, which is why Jordan is a strong advocate for country of origin labeling and local sourcing in school cafeterias.
• New federal efforts, including the Ranchers First initiative and USDA's Harvest to Hallways program ($25 million for Local Foods for Schools), are ones Jordan and Amanda are watching closely for what they could mean for rural America.

Summary of the episode

In this episode of Sizzle: The Salty Steak Show, Amanda Radke sits down with her friend Jordan Classen, who owns Classen Land & Cattle with her husband Travis in St. Edward, Nebraska. Jordan shares how the couple started their operation right out of college with a couple of cow-calf pairs, how they now run cattle on pasture and row crop ground within about 40 miles of home, and how she focuses on connecting with other families and taking the fear out of food. They talk about the small family business behind every box of beef, from the processor to the nutritionist, and about how, after roughly 10 years, they are starting to catch their stride.

Jordan explains what she is hearing at the farmers market, where customers want to know what is going on with the border, the New World screwworm, and beef imports. She shares how she answers by reminding shoppers that they get to choose where to spend their food dollars, and how a single pound of ground beef so often turns into a steak order and eventually a deep freezer filled with an eighth of a beef. Amanda adds why Bid On Beef keeps its roster to fewer than a dozen producers: the platform stamps its name on a premium, well-marbled, five-star steak experience.

Presented by Redmond Real Salt and Bid on Beef

• Use code RADKE for $10 off your next All American Angus Beef order at www.BidOnBeef.com
• Save on Redmond Real Salt with code RADKE at https://shop.redmondagriculture.com/
• Check out Amanda's agricultural children's books here: https://amandaradke.com/collections/amandas-books
• Learn more about Bulletproofing Your Direct-To-Consumer Beef Enterprise: https://amandaradke.com/products/bulletproof-your-beef-business

Takeaways

• The five rules for a perfect steak are to start with great beef, salt it 30 to 60 minutes early (or even a few hours ahead), bring it to room temperature for at least 30 minutes, grill it hotter than you think (500 to 600 degrees), and let it rest for five to 10 minutes before slicing.
• Cowboy steak butter is an easy, crowd-pleasing compound butter made with garlic, herbs, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper or Worcestershire that gives any ribeye a five-star restaurant finish at home.
• Amanda's Great American Steak Night Challenge invites listeners to pick one night this month and host neighbors, church friends, FFA and 4H families, veterans, or someone new in town for a steak dinner.
• Buying beef directly from a vetted rancher through Bid On Beef keeps food dollars in rural America and lets you choose the ranch, the cut, and the price.

Summary of the episode

In this solo episode of Sizzle: The Salty Steak Show, Amanda Radke starts with a big idea: culture is not built in Washington, DC, it is built at home, around supper tables, on front porches, at brandings, and at church potlucks. She explains why a steak dinner is such a powerful way to bring people together, and why gathering around a meal may be the counter-cultural answer to a world where everyone is glued to a screen.

From there, Amanda gets practical. She walks through her five rules for a perfect steak: start with great beef, salt it early, bring it to room temperature, grill it hotter than you think, and let it rest. Along the way she shares what she has learned from eating beef in steakhouses, small-town cafes, and a pasture in Argentina, plus how Bid On Beef vets ranchers and lets buyers choose the ranch, the cut, and the price at auction. She also shares her foolproof cowboy steak butter recipe, including the full ingredient list.

Amanda closes with a challenge and a reflection. The Great American Steak Night Challenge asks listeners to invite people to their table this month, and she explains what ranch life has taught her about family, work, and responsibility. Her message is that the future of America is sitting around your dinner table tonight, and that strong families, faith, and community are built one meal at a time.

This episode is brought to you by Bid On Beef (use code RADKEY at BidOnBeef.com to save on your first auction) and Redmond Real Salt (use code RADKEY at redmond.life).

Presented by Redmond Real Salt and Bid on Beef

• Use code RADKE for $10 off your next All American Angus Beef order at www.BidOnBeef.com
• Save on Redmond Real Salt with code RADKE at https://shop.redmondagriculture.com/
• Check out Amanda's agricultural children's books here: https://amandaradke.com/collections/amandas-books
• Learn more about Bulletproofing Your Direct-To-Consumer Beef Enterprise: https://amandaradke.com/products/bulletproof-your-beef-business

Takeaways

• Beef demand hit a 40-year high according to CattleFax even as retail prices climbed to historic levels, which means higher prices reflect strong demand and improved quality, not runaway profiteering by ranchers.
• The US cattle herd sits at its smallest size in a generation (approximately 28.5 million beef cows as of July 1, 2026), the result of years of herd liquidation driven by drought, an aging rancher population, and high input costs. It takes roughly two years to bring a new animal from breeding to market.
• Packer concentration (four companies controlling 85% of the beef supply, two of them foreign-owned) and the 14-month closure of the southern border to Mexican cattle imports over New World screw worm have both tightened supply further. Buying beef directly from a rancher through platforms like Bid On Beef keeps more of every dollar in rural America.

In this episode of Sizzle, Amanda Radke reports from a customer appreciation event at Reverse Rocking R Ranch in New Mexico, hosted with CK6 Consulting, Bid On Beef, and All American Angus Beef, to tackle the headlines claiming beef is too expensive. Rather than accepting that framing, Amanda reframes the conversation around what the price tag actually reflects, walking through the economics, the agriculture, and the policy behind the cost of beef.

Amanda leans on data from CattleFax and CEO Randy Blach, including the finding that beef demand is at a 40-year high even as prices climb, and that it takes the average American consumer about 13 minutes of work to earn a pound of ground beef, a figure that has held steady for the past decade. She connects rising prices to a historically tight cattle supply: the US beef cow herd is the smallest it has been in a generation, driven by drought, an aging rancher population (the average age is pushing 60), and a multi-year decline in the number of young producers entering the industry.

The episode also covers the policy side of the story, from the Green New Deal and school lunch meatless days to packer concentration and the DOJ's ongoing investigation into the four companies that control 85% of the beef supply. Amanda addresses the recent New World screw worm outbreak, the resulting 14-month closure of the southern border to cattle imports from Mexico, and the phased reopening that began in August 2026.

Presented by Redmond Real Salt and Bid on Beef

• Use code RADKE for $10 off your next All American Angus Beef order at www.BidOnBeef.com
• Save on Redmond Real Salt with code RADKE at https://shop.redmondagriculture.com/
• Check out Amanda's agricultural children's books here: https://amandaradke.com/collections/amandas-books
• Learn more about Bulletproofing Your Direct-To-Consumer Beef Enterprise: https://amandaradke.com/products/bulletproof-your-beef-business