The scores
Sundays Air-Dried Beef Recipe: A (90/100) — Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Bone, Quinoa.
The Farmer's Dog Beef Recipe Fresh-Cooked: A (91/100) — Beef, Sweet Potato, Lentils, Carrot, Beef Liver.
How the ingredients compare
The top-five ingredients reveal the formulation split between these two products:
Sundays: Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Bone, Quinoa
The Farmer's Dog: Beef, Sweet Potato, Lentils, Carrot, Beef Liver
The 1-point gap (The Farmer's Dog wins by 1 point) shows where the v15 rubric weights ingredient breadth, protein density, and supplement depth differently.
Where Sundays pulls ahead
Four named beef parts in the top-four panel positions — raw-prey-model nutrient density without raw safety concerns: Sundays Air-Dried Beef Recipe leads with beef (muscle meat) at position one, beef heart at position two, beef liver at position three, and beef bone at position four — four named beef proteins before any non-animal ingredient. The structural feature delivers raw-prey-model-style nutrient density: muscle meat for protein and amino acids, heart for CoQ10 + taurine + B-vitamins, liver for vitamin A + B12 + copper + iron + folate, bone for natural calcium + phosphorus matrix. The Farmer's Dog Beef Recipe leads with beef at position one followed by sweet potato at position two; beef liver appears at position five (one organ-meat position vs Sundays' two named organs plus bone). For owners specifically valuing raw-prey-model-style organ-meat density, maximum animal-source micronutrient bioavailability, or natural bone-source calcium / phosphorus, Sundays' top-four-beef structure is structurally aligned. Shop on Amazon →
Zero synthetic supplements — every nutrient sourced from whole-food ingredients: Sundays uses no synthetic vitamin or mineral supplements. Calcium and phosphorus come from beef bone. Vitamin A comes from beef liver and carrots. Vitamin E comes from mixed tocopherols (natural form) and sunflower oil. Selenium comes from selenium yeast (more bioavailable than synthetic sodium selenite). Iron, zinc, and copper come from organ meats and dried kelp. Iodine comes from dried kelp. The Farmer's Dog uses the TFD Nutrient Blend (dicalcium phosphate, fish oil, salt, calcium carbonate, taurine, amino acid chelates for zinc / iron / copper / manganese, choline bitartrate, B-vitamin and D3 premix) to ensure consistent AAFCO-complete formulation. Both approaches deliver nutritionally complete formulations; the structural difference matters to owners specifically valuing whole-food nutrient sourcing. For zero-synthetic formulation philosophy, Sundays is the only A/90-tier DTC option in the catalog.
Shelf-stable air-dried format — no freezer storage, travels well, emergency-supply capable: Sundays Air-Dried ships and stores at room temperature with a 12-month shelf life. The format eliminates freezer-storage capacity constraints that fresh-frozen The Farmer's Dog subscriptions require, travels easily for road trips and vacations, and serves as emergency-supply food for power-outage / freezer-failure scenarios. For households with limited freezer space, frequent travel where fresh-frozen feeding is difficult, dogs boarded at facilities preferring shelf-stable food, or owners wanting fresh-quality nutrition without freezer-storage logistics, Sundays' air-dried format is structurally aligned. The Farmer's Dog is fresh-frozen and requires freezer storage plus refrigerated thawing.
Where The Farmer's Dog holds its own
USDA human-grade beef as the first ingredient — the cleanest possible top-of-panel sourcing standard: The Farmer's Dog Beef Recipe uses USDA human-grade beef as the #1 ingredient. “Human-grade” is a stricter sourcing standard than “USDA-inspected facility” — it means the beef itself qualifies for human consumption (passes USDA inspection standards applied to human food production) not just that the manufacturing facility is USDA-inspected. The Farmer's Dog produces all food in facilities that meet human food regulations (both the food AND the facility), publishes ingredient sourcing transparency, and explicitly states the recipes are developed by board-certified veterinary nutritionists. Sundays uses USDA-inspected sourcing standards but does not explicitly state “human-grade” on the Air-Dried Beef Recipe label or marketing. The sourcing-standard delta drives part of the 1-point rubric gap. Shop on Amazon →
AAFCO feeding-trial substantiation + board-certified veterinary nutritionist recipe development: The Farmer's Dog explicitly develops recipes with board-certified veterinary nutritionists and pursues AAFCO feeding-trial substantiation on most recipes — actual dogs fed under controlled AAFCO protocols with monitoring of body weight, body condition, blood chemistry, and other health markers. Under v15, feeding-trial substantiation earns +5 rubric points over formulation-only. Sundays Air-Dried Beef Recipe uses formulation-only AAFCO substantiation. The substantiation-method delta drives part of the 1-point rubric gap. For owners specifically valuing the most rigorous AAFCO substantiation method available + board-certified veterinary nutritionist recipe development as nutritional validation signals, The Farmer's Dog is structurally aligned.
Fresh-cooked palatability profile + cooked-meat digestibility: The Farmer's Dog is cooked fresh-frozen — warmer, moister texture closer to human-cooked meals which many dogs respond to better than dry textures. The cooking process also denatures certain proteins making them slightly more digestible for dogs with mild GI sensitivities, and the higher moisture content (~70-75% water) supports hydration in dogs that don't drink water consistently. Sundays is air-dried (low-temperature dehydration over extended duration) — preserves nutrient density and shelf-stability but produces drier texture closer to jerky than fresh-cooked stew, and the lower moisture content (~8-10% water) means dogs need to drink more water to maintain hydration. For owners with picky eaters, dogs transitioning from kibble who respond better to cooked-meat texture, dogs with mild GI sensitivities that benefit from cooked-protein bioavailability, or dogs that don't drink water consistently, The Farmer's Dog is structurally aligned.
The bottom line
The Farmer's Dog edges Sundays by 1 point (A/91 vs A/90) — effectively tied rubric scores with both products operating at the top of their respective format tiers. The 1-point gap is structurally meaningful (USDA human-grade sourcing + AAFCO feeding-trial substantiation) but practically narrow. Pick Sundays Air-Dried Beef Recipe when four named beef parts in top-four positions (beef + beef heart + beef liver + beef bone) is the priority, zero-synthetic-supplement formulation philosophy matters, or air-dried shelf-stable format fits your storage and lifestyle constraints (limited freezer, travel, boarding, emergency-supply). Pick The Farmer's Dog Beef Recipe when USDA human-grade sourcing standard matters (food + facility both meet human food regulations), AAFCO feeding-trial substantiation is the nutritional validation standard you want, board-certified veterinary nutritionist recipe development is the structural assurance you're seeking, or fresh-cooked palatability profile fits your dog (picky eaters, transitioning from kibble, mild GI sensitivities). Both are top-of-tier A-grade DTC nutrition at their format.