There’s a huge protest going on in ranch country. No yelling, no signs, no violence, but a lot of anger, which is being channeled through our representative and senators. Maybe the President meant well when he decided to import more beef from Argentina, but the fact remains that he cut ranchers off at the knees. Finally, market prices were at a point when people who raise beef could at least break even, and perhaps make a profit. Furthermore, when we raised a hue and cry, Mr. Trump claimed that ranchers don’t understand tariffs and trade deals. Remember when Obama talked about people in mid-America who hung onto their Bibles and guns? When Hillary spoke of us as deplorables? Same thing, just different party. Face it, nobody understands these things better than those whose boots are in the corral and probably covered with bovine excrement.
If you believe the price of your hamburger will come down now, just hide and watch. What we get for our product has very little to do with what you pay. There are too many middlemen and packers who aren’t about to take a cut in profit. Our input costs aren’t going down so the squeeze gets tighter. Every day there are more regulations on how we operate, and all of those cost us money. On the day the announcement of imports from Argentina came out, the cattle market tanked. This is the time of year when our annual paycheck happens. Ranchers that sold their calves a week earlier went home happy. But on the news of imports, folks who had consigned cattle that week took a hit.
There’s a safety issue here too. Other countries have lax regulations about health of the animals they export. America seems not to care about the dangers to our herds or their food, as long as it’s cheap. If consumers were concerned about those things they might demand country of origin labeling on beef. It’s on your fruit and vegetables, and most other products, but the lobbyists keep it from becoming law. All about money in their pockets.
The cattle market has always been boom or bust, and always will be. It’ll jangle around awhile and eventually settle to something more level. Those of us in it for the long haul will manage to hang on, but a lot will be forced to sell out and people who can afford to buy the ranches will be outsiders with deep pockets and an eye to development or recreational purposes.
Tourism is the second largest industry in Nebraska. Right behind agriculture. The two are often at odds. Small towns plead for more people to move in but they already have housing shortages, a lack of adequate day care, and schools that need upgraded to meet population growth. When a community expands, more agricultural land will be paved over.
It’s all a balancing act, and the common good should be a goal but usually is not. Be careful what you wish for. The day may be coming when we’ll all be asking, “where’s the beef?”
Meet me here next week and meanwhile do your best. Somebody might like it.