Giving Ranchers Their Fair Share: Daniel Sinton on Saving a Meat Processing Plant

Sinton & Sons is a USDA butcher and processor providing locally-sourced meat and provisions to customers all over California. A fifth-gen rancher, Daniel Sinton has a vision for a better system.

Daniel Sinton is a fifth-generation rancher in San Luis Obispo County, California. Photo by Travel Paso

As a fifth-generation rancher, Daniel Sinton has had a front-row seat to the dwindling dollar for producers. With power consolidated higher up the beef supply chain, there is less and less profit for producers on the ground. When a local meat processing plant went out of business near his ranch in San Luis Obispo County, California, he saw an opportunity to reverse that trend, at least for his community.

Daniel shared with UNWON what prompted him to save a local meat processor and why he believes small processing plants are a big piece of the solution for ranchers and consumers alike.

What motivated you to get into this business?

A few years ago I started doing direct to consumer beef and it has been going pretty well. We were using the local USDA processor named J&R Meats. They have been in business for about 14 years. In the last two years or so they started to have some issues and it became difficult to rely on them to process our beef. Other ranchers in this area were having the same problems and many of the direct-to-consumer stuff went away for them.

The previous owner called me back in April and said he was closing down for good. I’d talked with many other producers about how vital this processor was to our local ranchers and farmers, as well as for providing locally-sourced proteins for the community. I was devastated when I heard they were closing and started making phone calls. Ultimately it was my best friend from college, along with my parents and another local rancher, who decided to jump in and purchase the processing plant and the two retail stores they had here in Paso Robles and Templeton.

That’s a huge step. Why did you feel it was so important that your community has access to a meat processing plant?

Ultimately I wanted to keep the processing plant open for the ranching and farming community. I don’t like the oligarchical system that we have and I’m not a fan of the giant, or even small, feedlots. I just don’t think that’s what is right for the animal or our people. 

The big system has been taking a bigger and bigger bite of the pie and ranchers and farmers have been getting squeezed for over half a century. I want to put more money back in the hands of the ranchers and farmers. This is a key component to me. I want to pay more for the animals and remove a few of the middlemen. 

I know we have to feed a lot of people in this country and world and this system was created for that, but I think these small processors are a vital part of the community and a fantastic way to feed the community we are in. My vision initially was to make sure the agricultural community had this available and it has morphed into also providing a local and regenerative source of protein for our communities. 

You say that Sinton & Sons isn’t for everyone but it works for your clientele. What do you mean?

Our retail shops, and eventually our online shops and boxes, present a unique opportunity to reach customers who are looking for pasture raised, local proteins that are raised better and offer a superior quality product that they can trust and they know exactly where it comes from.  I want people to see a map of where their food is raised and understand how important it is to support the producers.

What should consumers know about the processing piece of the meat supply chain that they may not be aware of?

There are very few smaller processing plants capable of doing USDA. There are the giants and then a handful of those that are capable of handling the direct-to-consumer or personal consumption group.  The requirement of capital and innovation is pivotal in this smaller processor niche and we are hoping to help our customers by making those investments.

Over the last 40 years or so, the U.S. has lost over 50% of our meatpackers. The so-called "Big 4" meatpackers now control 80% of the beef industry and two are foreign-owned. What do you think has led to this bottleneck and do you have any ideas for what policymakers and industry leaders should be doing to address this at scale?

Consolidation and the resulting oligopoly with the Big 4 packers is just a product of efficiency and creating a system that can handle the sheer numbers that are required to feed this many people. If you couple that with somewhat crippling regulation and rising wages it makes it hard for anyone to run a processor that can accommodate this section of the market.

I do think there have been some things coming down from the federal level that have been designed to help create more of these small-to-mid-sized processors, but it was just a drop in the bucket needed to recreate a less centralized system again. I think a lot of the industry leaders are tied to the Big 4 so that’s a tough one. We could definitely use more funding for processing expansion.

Tell me about your plans for Sinton & Sons and any changes you're planning to make.

I think there is a huge opportunity out there to serve all those people who are looking for really high-quality meats again. We’re excited to meet that demand and put more money back in the hands of the producer at the same time.

So much of life is driven by profit these days and I don’t want Sinton & Sons to be that. Our first priority is making sure that ranchers and farmers are getting their fair share again, and that we can provide the quality food that consumers deserve at the same time.

We have two butcher shops and we have plans to expand there, as well as into the online space and direct to consumer. Our plan with the processing side of the business is to reach capacity with our current space and make sure we are really doing things well for our customers. Once we’ve achieved that, we are hoping to expand to take on more customers and continue to help as many folks as possible across California.

It seems that people are craving connection with their food sources again. The trend is shifting from highly processed back to simple, whole, ancient foods. With this shift we’re also seeing a lot of misinformation and confusion especially on social media. What do you wish consumers knew about the meat industry, where their meat comes from, and the people who put it on their tables?

I definitely wish more consumers knew how difficult it is to raise animals and how we do it for the love of the land, the animals, and the community we are feeding.

I’m really excited by the movement we are seeing now of people getting back to knowing where their food comes from and connecting directly with the source. Food is such a vital cornerstone of our health and for too long Americans have sacrificed this in the name of efficient, cheap garbage. People are starting to get back to cleaner eating and I’m truly hopeful this will not just be a fad and that it will help both consumers and producers. 

What has the learning curve been like for you and your family since taking this project on?

The learning curve has been pretty steep, but we are lucky to have our COO, Lino Teran, who has a tremendous amount of industry experience, as well as some really talented folks working at our processing plant and butcher shops.  I have also been doing a direct-to-consumer grassfed beef program for the last 5 years so I know the process really well from the producer side, which I think is a huge bonus for our customers.

What can you share about the USDA permitting process? Are there ways to make this more accessible for local processors?

The USDA process is fine if you do the right thing. They aren’t here to hold us back, they’re just doing their jobs and trying to make sure our food system is safe, which is what we want, too. 

I think this piece of things is particularly difficult for smaller processors because it is a mountain of paperwork that requires a good understanding of how to write a plan and how to abide by it. That takes a lot of education and system processes and I think the USDA isn’t in the business of helping with that, more just making sure it is in place and being followed. Processors need a good compliance person. 

Daniel Sinton, photo credit: Travel Paso

For other ranchers or entrepreneurs who may be thinking about starting their own local processor, what advice would you have?

I love Will Harris’ direction with White Oak Pastures.  I love the model he has created and the bold push he is making and I hope that we can replicate what he is doing to a degree out here in the West. Clearly consumers are asking for that and producers will benefit from it. I would highly recommend his book A Bold Return to Giving a Damn as a start, and of course, I’m always happy to help if someone wants to contact me.

To learn more about Sinton & Sons, visit their website, follow them on Instagram, or visit one of their locations in Paso Robles and Templeton, California. You can also shop their selection of meats and provisions online here.

Photos courtesy Daniel Sinton