INDEPENDENCE, Kansas – Diamond R Cattle, a fourth-generation family ranch, has expanded its direct-to-consumer beef program to reach families in Kansas City, Wichita, Tulsa and Joplin, adding regional pickup points and boxed beef shipped to the door, as grocery beef climbs to record prices and a new federal labeling rule sharpens questions about where store-bought beef comes from. 

The expansion lands during a historic squeeze on beef supply and price. The average retail price of ground beef topped six dollars per pound for the first time on record in 2026, reaching about $6.90 in April, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The national cattle herd stood at 86.2 million head on January 1, 2026, the smallest since 1951, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, keeping supplies tight and prices high. 

 

At the same time, a new USDA rule that took effect January 1, 2026, requires that a “Product of USA” label mean the animal was born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States, a change meant to end misleading origin claims on beef pooled from many sources. Diamond R Cattle sells the opposite of a pooled product: black Angus raised on a single Kansas ranch, grass fed and grain finished on corn and oats, with no added hormones and no antibiotics, sold one animal at a time. 

“Families deserve to know exactly where their beef comes from, and that means one ranch, one animal, and feed that stays the same from batch to batch,” said Marty Reichenberger, owner of Diamond R Cattle. “Grocery beef can be a blend from many places, and buying direct is what replaces that guesswork.” 

 

Demand for that kind of traceability has been climbing: 31 percent of Americans reported buying food directly from a farmer in the past year, according to a 2026 Kiss the Ground national study. The new pickup points let families across Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma collect a quarter, half or whole beef share close to home instead of driving to the ranch. Buyers in the Kansas City area can reserve a share and meet the ranch at a regional drop point at https://diamondrcattle.com/pages/kansas-city-beef-for-sale, with similar pickups serving Wichita and Joplin. Grass fed and grain finished beef is also available to families near Tulsa. For households without freezer space for a full share, the ranch ships boxed beef directly to the door. 

 

The ranch has raised cattle near Independence, Kansas since 1998. Reichenberger finishes his cattle on a blend of corn and oats, an approach found after an earlier change in feed, and has held blind tastings in which guests chose the ranch’s beef over store-bought.
 

About Diamond R Cattle 

Diamond R Cattle is a fourth-generation family ranch near Independence, Kansas, founded in 1998. The ranch raises black Angus beef, grass fed and grain finished on corn and oats, with no added hormones and no antibiotics, and sells it directly to families as quarter, half and whole beef shares and as boxed beef. A processor dry-ages and cuts each order. More information is available at diamondrcattle.com.

 

Media Contact

Name
Diamond R Cattle
Contact name
Marty Reichenberger
Contact address
3521 CR 5000
City
Independence
State
Kansas
Zip
67301
Country
United States
Url
https://diamondrcattle.com/

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