Producers, Others Raise Concerns Over NASS Dropping Midyear Cattle Report

DTN reported, last Friday USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer defended the decision of the National Agricultural Statistics Service decision to eliminate three market reports this year, including the July cattle inventory report, while noting that dropping the midyear cattle report “comes at an unfortunate time.” According to the National Agriculture Statistics Service, “the decision to discontinue these surveys and reports was not made lightly but was necessary given appropriated budget levels.”

Talking about the canceled reports, Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX, said it was a little disappointing to see the lost data because it’s so important for a functioning market. He added that he was more surprised by the customer feedback about the canceled reports, emphasizing that there is user trust in USDA data.

According to the Hagstrom Report, Suderman said his clients had been reading the USDA budget online and came to the conclusion that USDA could have found money to continue the cattle report rather than some of the other activities in which it is engaged, while other industry groups called the decision to cancel the reports “misguided.”

Meyer agreed that losing a midyear inventory report on cattle numbers “comes at an unfortunate time” when the U.S. cattle inventory is at historic lows and showed another 2% decline in the January numbers as traders around the world rely on USDA statistics that could show whether cattle producers are starting to rebuild their herds or are still impacted by drought or the costs of forage.

According to Suderman, there is “a sense of betrayal” about this decision.

Updated Interstate Movement Requirements Impacting Marketers

The American Livestock Markets & Dealers Association reported that interstate movement requirements have changed for some classes of cattle, emphasizing that if you are shipping beef or dairy cattle interstate, you need to check the requirements with the source and destination state veterinarians before shipping.

As a beef-on-dairy animal that is born on a dairy is classified as being of dairy origin regardless of how long the calf was at the dairy before being moved to a calf ranch or secondary location, beef-on-dairy cattle are under increased scrutiny as we are seeing cases where animals previously classified as beef are now correctly being classified as dairy origin.

Some states are also now requiring movement permits in addition to a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI). These permits must be issued by the originating state in coordination with the destination state. Marketers can initiate a permit by contacting their state veterinarian, who can also provide additional movement requirements for interstate livestock shipments.

Cattlemen Tell Thune: ‘More Ranch’ Needed in Already Overdue Farm Bill

The South Dakota Searchlight reported that ranchers urged U.S. Senators John Thune of South Dakota and John Boozman of Arkansas to consider grasslands and cattle – not just crop support – as they finalize federal legislation that will govern many agricultural and food programs for years to come.

The feedback came as the senators fielded questions from various agriculture and conservation groups during a Friday listening session at a Valley Springs-area farm.

The federal farm bill is officially known as the Agriculture Improvement Act, and covers everything from farm credit and crop insurance to nutritional programs and conservation. The most recent version was enacted in 2018, and various subsidies and programs have been outpaced by inflation. The bill was set to expire but has been extended through Sep. 30 as Congress works through disagreements over the legislation.

The forum attracted commodity groups in the corn, soybean, wheat, dairy, pork, poultry and sunflower sectors, all of whom want stronger crop insurance.

Sen. Boozman, the top Republican on the Senate Ag Committee, acknowledged the importance of conservation but said crop insurance should be the focus. He said every acre taken out of production and conserved is less income for small towns, commenting that there needs to be “more farm in the farm bill.”

The session’s rhetoric shifted when South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association President Warren Symens stood up and added that members are looking to see a little more ‘ranch’ in the farm bill, as well.”

Symens spoke of ranchers’ role in grassland conservation and stressed the importance of plentiful grazing acres while lobbying for the inclusion of beef in farm bill nutrition programs and for electronic cattle traceability funding to manage disease outbreaks better.

For reference, from 1995 to 2020, South Dakota farmers received $6.7 billion in federal payments for corn, $3.1 billion for soybeans, $2.4 billion for wheat and $1.9 billion for conservation, among other items, while payments to livestock producers totaled $732 million.

This contrast has left some ranchers feeling sidelined in agricultural policy.

Austin Havlik is an ag lender, rancher and member of the cattlemen’s association. He said ranchers coming to his office are asking for bigger loans for more cattle to pay the bills when the federally subsidized program was originally created to insure against declines in livestock market prices.
Tensions between ranchers and farmers sometimes arise when policies that favor crop subsidies encourage the conversion of grassland to cropland or reduce grazing areas for livestock.

Thune reassured that balancing those interests can still be achieved within the framework of the farm bill.