Less Government Beef Intervention

From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson. Despite ongoing discussion about the nation’s cattle inventory sitting at a 75-year low, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Senior Vice President Ethan Lane says strong consumer demand continues to support the beef industry.

But he says many producers are frustrated with federal efforts to address what they don’t view as a problem …

LANE … “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 argues that the proposed mandatory country-of-origin labeling in the Senate version would add costs throughout the supply chain without increasing demand for beef …

LANE … “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. 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.”

Lane says consumers prioritize price and quality when

purchasing beef, not labeling.