When Your Biggest Investment Becomes Your Biggest Challenge

Hello! I hope everyone is enjoying the full swing of summer. It honestly feels like school is only a few weeks away, which seems absolutely insane. This summer has flown by, and I can't believe we're already closing out July!

If you've seen me at the farmers market lately, you've probably noticed I've looked a little frazzled. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, and I wanted to share what's been going on behind the scenes.

Last April, Brandon and I made the decision to invest in a walk-in freezer. As our business has grown with subscriptions, bundles, and year-round product availability, it was the logical next step. We'd been using a large freezer trailer for years, but it simply wasn't as efficient. It was a big investment, but one we felt would help us continue to grow.

Unfortunately, we've had issues with the refrigeration system almost from the beginning. Earlier this spring, we noticed bubbles in the refrigerant sight glass—a sign that something wasn't right. Our HVAC company came out twice and assured us the problem had been fixed.

Then, about two weeks ago, everything changed.

Our local electric company had to replace a power pole, which meant our electricity was shut off from about 7:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. When the power came back on, our freezer would not return to its normal operating temperature of -10°F. Instead, it slowly climbed from around 10°F to 15°F and just kept getting warmer.

The timing couldn't have been worse. Brandon and I were in Sheridan for the rodeo, and my brother-in-law, Tyrel, was at our house trying to troubleshoot everything while we spent the entire day on the phone with him and the HVAC company. Between the condenser, evaporator, and control system, everyone was trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

By the end of the day, we had no choice but to request an emergency service call. The HVAC company is about an hour and a half away, so even getting someone here is expensive—but we had thousands of pounds of product at risk.

Our walk-in was completely full of grass-fed and grass-finished beef, pasture-raised pork, pasture-raised chicken, grass-fed lamb, and our wild-caught seafood. Thankfully, after determining the compressor had failed, Tyrel loaded our entire Transit van with frozen product and transported everything to a friend's larger walk-in freezer about 30 minutes away. We are incredibly grateful he had the space and was willing to help us. I honestly don't know what we would have done otherwise.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there.

We're now over two weeks into this process, and our freezer is still down. A second HVAC company came out to provide another opinion and confirmed that the compressor is completely failed. They also found what appears to be a leak in the evaporator. While the evaporator could technically be repaired, the leak is in a location that would require extensive work to access. Their recommendation is to replace both the compressor and the evaporator—in other words, essentially replace the entire refrigeration system after only one year.

That has been a difficult pill to swallow.

Making such a large investment only to potentially spend that same amount of money again a year later feels like a huge setback for our little business. We know this is part of owning a small business. There are long days, unexpected expenses, family sacrifices, and plenty of challenges that people don't always see. But that doesn't make moments like this any easier.

For those of you who have stopped by the farmers market recently, thank you for your patience as we've navigated limited inventory and a much more complicated routine. Every market day now starts with an extra trip to retrieve product before we can even begin setting up.

West Cattle Company is still just Brandon and me, along with one wonderful part-time employee who helps us at the markets. We wear every hat—from ranching and caring for our livestock to processing, deliveries, bookkeeping, customer service, and everything in between. Challenges like this directly affect our family and our business.

Before we wrap up, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to two people who truly saved us during this ordeal.

First, to my brother-in-law, Tyrel—thank you for dropping everything, spending hours troubleshooting with us from afar, loading an entire Transit van full of frozen meat, and making the drive to ensure every last box was safely stored. You stepped in when we couldn't be there, and because of you, we didn't lose everything. We owe you more than we can ever repay.

And to our friend who immediately opened up his own walk-in freezer and has been storing all of our inventory for the past two weeks—thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Without your generosity, we simply wouldn't have been able to continue serving our customers while we work through this. You've literally saved our business from an even greater loss, and we'll never forget that kindness.

Moments like these remind us that while owning a small business can sometimes feel overwhelming, we're surrounded by an incredible community. It's people like Tyrel, generous friends, and all of you—our customers—who remind us why we do what we do.

Thank you for your patience when we've been out of products, for your understanding when things haven't gone according to plan, and for every encouraging word you've shared at the markets. Those conversations have meant more than you know.

If you would, we'd truly appreciate your continued prayers as we work through the warranty process and hope for a fair resolution. We're trusting that, somehow, this setback will become part of a bigger story, and we're looking forward to the day we can put it behind us.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting our little family ranch. We truly couldn't do this without all of you.

With gratitude,

Brandon & Brittany West Cattle Company