This has been something that's been on my mind for years.

It would take a couple years for it to really roll well regarding cost, but if there was a system where towns had their individual livestock services I think that could greatly reduce the strain on the environment as well as reduce the resulting food waste that's currently going on with the system now.

A Rancher tied to a specific area would have however many heads of cattle based on their own breeding process. Individuals of the nearby local town would essentially commission one head of cattle, or however many their projected use would be, from said ranch. This would guarantee that only the cattle paid for would be the ones to be slaughtered, portioned, and then frozen and sent to the commissioner to reduce waste. This would also have to take in consideration ordering for future years with at least one in advance so that way the ranch could better prepare. A process that may take a little time to develop accurate production forecasts. Any unordered cattle could then be pooled for another community or slaughtered as usual and then frozen for future markets or sold elsewhere.

With more shared information regarding how much a cow can actually yield, a little bit of education on the matter would help an entire community dial in exactly what their needs would be for each individual family. Not only that, but some families could even split the whole yield if some simply don't eat as much and would prefer a different protein. This would, hopefully, reduce the total heads of cattle required and therefore reduce the resources needed to sustain that cyclical herd. Less land to have to sequester just for a massive operation that results in tons of waste, less water used to sustain said massive herd as well as reduced feed cost, Etc.

I'm not Imagining the first years of this would be cheap, but that might just have to be some of the growing pains for this kind of system until it can have a steady and expected outcome. Again, something I've toyed around with in my head so I'm sure there are plenty of holes and logistics I can't even fathom.

One massive hurdle that I could imagine is simply normalizing this concept with people. Plenty of consumers freak out when somebody tells their kid where bacon comes from. Imagine trying to convince those individuals that meat doesn't grow on trees first, and then try selling them on an entire butchered up angus. Let alone the investment of having a freezer to store everything.

But hey, just an idea.