Fair Enough
If you had an hour to talk with the president about the beef industry, what would you say?
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall recently had that opportunity. He met with President Trump to discuss his recent executive orders affecting the beef industry and retail beef prices. I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall during that meeting.
Duvall said he told the president that his plan to increase beef imports over the next 90 days was hurting U.S. cattlemen. While the move may have had the short-term effect of lowering retail beef prices, Duvall said it has caused a significant price drop for U.S. cattle. He urged Trump to reverse the decision.
It has been a very long time since a sitting U.S. president has ventured into the weeds on a supply-demand issue in agriculture. In one respect, the attention is welcome and appreciated. It shows that someone in the nation's highest office cares about agriculture. In another respect, it can be dangerous. A person with that much power can implement policies that can have unintended consequences. In this case, Trump is trying to lower retail beef prices at a time when all food prices are high due to inflation. As the cattlemen's groups pointed out, the president's strategy sacrifices long-term food security for a short-term solution.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the administration does have a plan to rebuild the U.S. beef herd. The plan includes a Beef Retention and National Development endorsement for the Livestock Risk Protection, an insurance program. Under that program, if a heifer's slaughter value exceeds the economic value of retaining her as breeding stock, the policy would provide for the difference.
The administration is also creating a guaranteed loan program to support small and regional beef slaughter facilities, allowing producers to utilize CRP acres for grazing, and introducing an initiative to put more American-raised beef into school meals.
Some of those ideas, like the insurance program for heifers, have potential. Duvall said he appreciates the president's support for small processors.
Unfortunately, none of those ideas are bold enough. The U.S. beef industry right now is at a tipping point. Several major processors have closed slaughter plants because they weren't running at full capacity. The U.S. beef herd is at a 70-year low point and can't supply enough cattle to keep those facilities in operation. It's not the first time the U.S. has imported beef, but our cupboards have never been this bare.
This is a serious situation and worthy of discussion at the highest levels of government. I wish there would be more discussion and with more stakeholders. With the president's attention focused on the beef industry, now is the time to get it right.