Current Cattle Markets Daily Headlines : Thursday Morning May 7, 2020

Mackenzie Johnston

6 years ago

USCA: Prioritize the U.S. Beef and Cattle Industry

On Wednesday, the United States Cattlemen’s Association sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, emphasizing the prioritization of the US beef and cattle industry over foreign product during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bold and immediate action needs to be taken within our industry to avoid mass liquidation in the livestock sector. If action is not taken, it could take up to a decade to recover from these tumultuous times, or worse, we will be forced to import our food like we import so many other products to this country.
As Americans, we are used to a safe and steady food supply. As an industry, we must continue to consider all possible solutions to ensure that Americans can continue to depend on this for generations to come.

A proposal that would fund placing feedlot cattle on a maintenance diet for 75 days is being circulated in Washington D.C.
This proposal would seek to “alleviate the risk of massive economic collapse in the beef cattle industry.” The proposal was developed by the Beef Alliance and modeled after a set-aside program used in Canada after the BSE crisis in 2004.
This program was developed using USDA data and assistance from CattleFax.
The Beef Alliance is hoping to build support for the proposal from other cattle industry groups and members of Congress.
The proposed payment rate for cattle in this program would be fixed at $2.90 per head per day. This is intended to offset additional feed and operating costs incurred by holding cattle back from slaughter for 75 days.
The program is not intended to allow producers to recoup all economic damages. However, it will prevent massive economic losses throughout the cattle industry. It should also provide certainty and confidence in the food supply.