Cattle Producers Want Less Government Intervention

Despite ongoing discussion about the nation’s cattle inventory sitting at a 75-year low, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane says strong consumer demand continues to support the beef industry.

"What gets missed in that conversation is the volume of beef we've been putting out," Lane said.  "You know, we're putting out more beef in the supply chain than we were in 2015. The efficiency of those animals, the efficiency of the supply chain is different. The quality is exponentially greater, and that speaks to that consumer demand that we continue to see. I think we're capturing something like 74% of every new protein dollar right now amongst our competitors in the protein space, and that's a function, even at today's prices, of the fact that what American cattle producers are putting out the door really resonates with consumers and is something that they still want to see at the center of their plate."

Lane added that success is the result of years of work by cattle producers to build trust with consumers.  But he said many producers are frustrated with federal efforts to address what they don’t view as a problem.

“It has truly felt, I think to a lot of producers, like there’s been a lot of effort to break something that was finally helping cattle producers with their bottom line," said Lane.  "Looking at policymakers on Capitol Hill trying to address some of those things, I think what we're hearing most from cattle country right now is, gosh, could we please get less help from the federal government, whether that be from the administration or from Congress, quite frankly. We've been long, vocal supporters of the House-passed version of the Farm Bill. I think G.T. Thompson and his team, and quite frankly, folks in ag policy on the House side generally deserve a lot of credit for putting together a bipartisan product."

But Lane points to issues in the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill.  He argues that the included proposal of mandatory country-of-origin labeling would add costs throughout the supply chain without increasing demand for beef.

“The logic of pushing mandatory country of origin labeling in an environment where producers are complaining about high input costs and high costs to produce that product at the same time that everyone is focused on lowering consumer prices, MCOOL would do two things right away," Lane stressed.  "It would raise costs for producers to comply with it, and it would raise the price of our product for consumers at the store. What it wouldn't do is drive demand. Glenn Tonzer at K-State just put out an updated study looking at what consumers are evaluating as they make a beef purchase, and I think labeling, origin labeling, fell 11th out of the top 12 in that list."

Lane said consumers continue to prioritize price and quality when purchasing beef. He believes the industry is better served by the voluntary Product of USA label rather than a mandatory country-of-origin labeling requirement.

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