You Are My Why

I believe farmers and ranchers are the backbone of Canada and the United States and I know I'm not alone.

They feed people. They steward land. They keep rural communities alive. They hold together grasslands, habitat, family businesses, and a way of life that matters far beyond the farm gate. There is no door that hasn't ever had a farmers product pass through. Our offerings are in every home. Who do farmers serve? Simply put, everyone. Your grandma and your dog.

And yet, too often, the people doing some of the most important work in society are the ones left with the least room to breathe.

That is not acceptable to me.

My business exists because I want farmers and ranchers to make more money, keep more of what they earn, and build businesses strong enough to stay in families instead of getting squeezed out, bought out, or price pressured into selling. That is my why.

Baby Shelby

Why this matters to me

This is not just about marketing. But it also all comes down to marketing.

It is about whether the people raising food can stay profitable enough to keep doing it (and marketing helps you achieve that.)

It is about whether native grasslands stay as working landscapes instead of being fragmented, cultivated, paved over, or developed away. Cue my favourite Joni Mitchell song — damn it Joni, they did pave paradise and put up a parking lot!

Big Yellow Taxi isn't just about the loss of parks, for me it hits home to the loss of farmland. Canada has already lost roughly three-quarters to four-fifths of its native prairie grasslands, depending on the source. Environment and Climate Change Canada says approximately 80% of native prairie grasslands in Canada have been cultivated, while Ducks Unlimited Canada says an estimated 74% have already been lost. Joni would be, if I might say so, pissed if she knew this.

But this conversation is also about who holds stewardship over what remains. In Canada, most farmland is privately owned, which means farmers’ decisions directly shape wildlife habitat and working landscapes. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says plainly that most of Canada’s farmland is privately owned and that farmers’ activities can have major impacts on wildlife habitat.

In the United States, private ownership matters just as much. Research cited by USDA-linked sources shows about 85% of U.S. grasslands are privately owned, and NRCS says 90% of the Great Plains is privately owned. In other words, the future of prairie and grazing land is tied in a very real way to the people who ranch it.

That matters to me because I do not believe the best future for North America is one where working lands disappear, family operations get squeezed, and the people who actually raise food have less and less control over their income.

The facts behind the conviction

This is not a made-up problem.

Canada’s own data shows how much pressure producers are under. Statistics Canada reported that realized net income for Canadian farmers fell by $3.3 billion in 2024, down 25.9%, the largest percentage decrease since 2018. The decline was driven by lower farm cash receipts and higher operating expenses.

At the same time, Alberta remains the centre of cattle country in Canada. Alberta continues to hold the largest cattle herd in the country, with more than 5.4 million cattle and calves on farms in recent provincial data.

So yes, this matters in Alberta especially. The province carries enormous weight in Canada’s beef sector, but even with that importance, producers still face the same pressure: rising costs, tighter margins, and a market that too often rewards scale, convenience, and middlemen more than stewardship and quality. Statistics Canada’s latest farm income releases show how quickly strong prices can still be swallowed by broader cost pressure.

The United States is under similar pressure from land conversion. American Farmland Trust reports that 11 million acres of agricultural land were converted to non-farm uses between 2001 and 2016, and says the country is currently losing about 2,000 acres of agricultural land a day. I mean, holy crap.

That is not abstract. That is fields, pasture, and ranchland turning into subdivisions, warehouses, parking lots (Again, Joni called it), and other non-farm development.

And yes, I am concerned about land concentration too. In the U.S., USDA reports that foreign persons held an interest in nearly 46 million acres of agricultural land as of December 31, 2024, equal to 3.6% of all privately held agricultural land.

I am also wary of billionaire and investment-driven land concentration. Bill Gates has been identified by Land Report as the largest private farmland owner in the United States, with roughly 275,000 acres. So... yikes.

Too much productive land is under pressure from consolidation, development, speculation, and non-farm demand, while the people actually producing food are still being told to accept thin margins and commodity treatment in the marketplace.

What I am for

I am for profitable farms and ranches.

I am for producers keeping more of the value they create.

I am for family operations staying in families.

I am for ranchers who steward grasslands, care deeply about their animals, and want to build strong direct-to-consumer businesses instead of relying entirely on systems that leave them with less control.

I am for local food systems that make rural communities stronger.

I am for marketing, branding, and sales systems that help producers stop being treated like a commodity and start selling like a premium brand.

Because that is the difference.

If the market cannot see your difference, it will not pay for your difference.

What I am against

I am against factory farming.

I am against a system that asks producers to do more, absorb more risk, and accept less.

I am against the steady loss of farmland and grassland to non-farm development.

I am against the idea that farmers and ranchers should simply accept being underpaid for one of the most essential jobs in society.

I am against the quiet normalization of this whole arrangement, where the people closest to the land are expected to carry the burden while more of the value gets captured farther down the chain.

Why my work looks the way it does

That is why I care so much about helping farmers and ranchers market better.

Not because marketing is cute. Not because branding is trendy. Not because a website is a fun design project for me (but it is.)

Because if you are producing a premium product, stewarding land, caring well for animals, and doing the hard work of building something real, then you should not still be forced to market yourself like a commodity.

You need trust. You need positioning. You need a brand people remember. You need a website that makes buying feel clear and easy. You need messaging that helps people understand why your operation matters and why your price is justified.

That is the work I do.

I help farmers and ranchers stop being treated like a commodity and start selling like a premium brand.

Because I want more farms and ranches profitable. I want more land kept in good hands. I want more families able to keep going. And I want the people feeding this continent to make the kind of money their work deserves.

My mission

My mission is to help as many farmers and ranchers as possible make more money, ethically, without selling out what matters.

To help them build businesses that are profitable enough to protect their freedom.

To help them keep more money in their own pockets.

To help them stay on the land.

To help them build brands and sales systems strong enough that the next generation has something worth inheriting.

That is my why.

If you're a producer who is tired of being priced like a commodity and ready to build a premium brand people trust, this is exactly the work I do. I reccomend starting with my Social Media Growth Audit + Consulting package. It’s an affordable, one-time package where I’ll audit your social media presence, build a strategy tailored for you, teach you how to grow on social media, AND meet for a 1:1 coaching call so that you can ask all of your questions. Social media is an incredible, free tool that everyone should be utilizing. Let's get it working for you! Book your spot now here.