RFK Jr on Beef Inventory
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr is asking cattle producers to increase their herd size.
At the recent National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s CattleCon in Nashville, RFK Jr urged producers to retain their breeding cows …
RFK JR … “'Begging you to increase the size of their herds,' Secretary Kennedy told beef industry stakeholders at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville on Thursday evening," Kirkpatrick reported. "'We had 132 million head in 1972. We have 92 million today. And a lot of producers are now, because of fluctuations in the markets and uncertainty, slaughtering the breeding cows. And I'd ask you to stop doing that.”
Given our current supply and demand issues with beef,
Kennedy says that’s not a good idea …
RFK JR … “We need a lot of beef, and we want to make it here in America. We don't want to be importing it from other countries.”
According to RFD News, Kennedy made that call just before news came out of the White House that a new U.S.-Argentina trade deal has been struck, primarily to increase ground beef imports to the U.S.
At 86.2 million head on January 1st, the latest cattle inventory report showed no signs of the rebuilding. In fact, all cattle on feed totaled 13.8 million head, a 3% reduction from 2025.
