News

R-CALF disputes Cattlefax beef trade analysis

The head of R-CALF USA disputes the CattleFax beef trade analysis which says U.S. producers are selling more beef than the U.S. is buying.

Bill Bullard says the opposite is true when imported live cattle are taken into account and he says they should be, “When you add that on to the import volumes coming in as the commodity beef you see that the United States has generated a trade DEFICIT for the past 20 some years, and that is, we are buying more than we are selling.”

Bullard says the U.S. cattle industry is being forced to absorb the over-production and over-capacity of other countries, “And as a result, we are weakening our industry and reducing opportunities for current cattle producers and particularly for young cattle producers who want to get into this industry.”

Bullard says the CattleFax report is geared toward meatpackers who consider all the beef derived from imported cattle to be U.S. beef.

Live cattle imports are reported monthly and, Bullard tells Brownfield Ag News, must be considered. He says R-CALF supports President Trump’s moves to correct the imbalance of trade but the USMCA does not do that for beef.