80,000 tons of beef imported as Nebraska cattle numbers hit major lows

[libertybele]

Beef continues to rise .... but I don't  want to eat beef from Argentina.  Right now Omaha steaks is selling lean ground beef.  Not the cheapest, but I'd rather help them out then buy from outside the country.  Trying to stock up as much as possible when steaks go on sale at Farmer Joe's and Jerry's, but the sale prices are still ridiculous.

So .... isn't this import going to hurt the U.S. cattle ranchers???

80,000 tons of beef imported as Nebraska cattle numbers hit major lows

About 80,000 tons of beef is coming to the US from Argentina after an executive order from the White House, happening at the same time cattle numbers in Nebraska are reaching major lows as many shoppers are paying more for beef.

In a release from the Trump administration that 80,000 tons is planned to be imported in chunks throughout the year.

I drove out to Columbus where cattle feeder Mike Drinnin tells me the best way to raise cattle numbers is to give extra financial support to producers who work in an unstable market.

"For smaller producers to be able to use that policy to protect the breeding stock that they're trying to develop right now there's nothing available out there for them as in risk management," Drinnin said.

He's seen the market fluctuate because he's been in the business for a long time.

"Basically since I got out of college in 1982 so you think about it, it's been a few years," Drinnin said.

When a major flood struck around 2019, he was the president of Nebraska Cattlemen. One of his biggest hopes is that the USDA practices the same U.S. health standards with the imported beef.

But he doesn't expect cheaper groceries until herd numbers climb.

So I checked on those prices at Buresh Meats in David City.

"I don't know what the total answer is. All I know is that people on one end of the cattle market selling them really high are doing well, people trying to fatten them they’re not doing so well," Scott Buresh said...........

https://www.3newsnow.com/northeast-nebraska/80-000-tons-of-beef-imported-as-nebraska-cattle-numbers-hit-major-lows

[Bigun]

Mike Drinnin tells me the best way to raise cattle numbers is to give extra financial support to producers who work in an unstable market.

Nope! Stabilizing the market long term fixes the problem.

[roamer_1]

Well, sorta.

The reason to build the herds back is the high value.

y'all have to remember that beef on the hoof is way different than beef coming out of the slaughter house.

Beef on the hoof is more of a commodity, where beef on the hook is a product. The 'value added' happens after the beef is delivered to the stockyard.

Now, it DOES effect the on the hoof price - Angus cow/calf or heavy bred cow is running 1500 bucks up in here, where I would expect 600-800... maybe as low as 400. That's crazy money.

So while adding South American beef will very likely lower demand for local beef on the hoof, and drop the value of beef on the hoof, that is likely, largely unplugged from your beef on the hook, and even more so, unplugged from your beef in a styrofoam tray.

The cost of beef on the hoof will go way down, maybe... but so will the profits to the rancher, and thus robs him of the money he could use for rebuilding his herds.

That's a touchy business. Don't get me wrong, I get that he's trying to lower retail beef... I get that is needful. But who will take the hit for that is the rancher, and it will take much longer to rebuild. And that's a shame.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Calf prices here are insane now.  Sold a 200 pound calf recently for $1440 - and some are going for over 2 grand.

It is nice to finally be able to secure some case after years of losses.

[Idiot]

Well, sorta.

The reason to build the herds back is the high value.

y'all have to remember that beef on the hoof is way different than beef coming out of the slaughter house.

Beef on the hoof is more of a commodity, where beef on the hook is a product. The 'value added' happens after the beef is delivered to the stockyard.

Now, it DOES effect the on the hoof price - Angus cow/calf or heavy bred cow is running 1500 bucks up in here, where I would expect 600-800... maybe as low as 400. That's crazy money.

So while adding South American beef will very likely lower demand for local beef on the hoof, and drop the value of beef on the hoof, that is likely, largely unplugged from your beef on the hook, and even more so, unplugged from your beef in a styrofoam tray.

The cost of beef on the hoof will go way down, maybe... but so will the profits to the rancher, and thus robs him of the money he could use for rebuilding his herds.

That's a touchy business. Don't get me wrong, I get that he's trying to lower retail beef... I get that is needful. But who will take the hit for that is the rancher, and it will take much longer to rebuild. And that's a shame.

Cattle ranchers here are screaming bloody murder about the South American beef.  They've had to scrape by for so many years and now to get the rug pulled from under them.