Yes, farmers have banded together and make large purchases and grain sales. These are known as 'co-ops' in the US. The idea of them is great.
There is a WIDE variance on the quality of co-ops. Some are great and well-run and provide the intended benefits to farmers. Others would make the mafia looks less corrupt (seriously, the CEOs of some co-ops make 500k+ salaries).
It seems that banding together on grain sales cuts both ways. I gather that selling to (or is it through?) the co-op gets you access to the commodity markets, which generally makes selling your goods easy. However, when you are buying seed for the next year's crop, you have no guarantee that the market price when you sell it will cover your costs. At least that's part of what I get from:
> Between cash and cover crops, Wicks and Givens are planting about 4,500 acres this year. Some of that land is leased from Wicks’ mother, who retired in 2019, and the rest they lease from neighbors. They’ve contracted most of the barley to Anheuser-Busch, though they’ll sell some to nearby Hutterite colonies for chicken feed. They’re also growing lentils, chickpeas, Kamut and Einkorn for smaller mills including Timeless Seeds and Montana Flour and Grain, both based in Montana.
> Their yields are smaller than their conventional ones were, but Wicks said it’s worth it. Previously, they were at the mercy of international commodity markets, as well as ever-increasing seed, chemical and fertilizer prices. Organic producers often have more leverage, because they usually grow a diverse range of crops and sell directly to processors. Plus, many Montana organic grain and pulse growers forward-contract their crops, meaning they lock in a per bushel price before even planting. Wicks and Givens often sell their organic crops for two to three times the price of conventionally grown ones.
A similar, likely smaller scale, tale is told in TasteMakers[1]. In this episode I think it was the beef supplier that said that he couldn't count on the commodity price of beef, but by contracting with the local artisan butcher prices were set for the year. Who knows what percent of his herd goes to that butcher.
Yes, this is the path for many small players. We had a craft beer revolution, and there is a 'craft beef' revolution slowly happening.
How well can this model scale remains to be seen. Also, do not underestimate the meat cartels. They have deep pockets (and the cutthroat executives) and can go to the mattress far longer than small-time players.
