Beef is front and center during the month of May
For many in High Plains region beef is front and center in rural communities and on the plates of consumers everyday.
May is set aside to celebrate beef. It comes at a time with challenges this year. Trying to rebuild the nation’s cowherd, estimated at 28.2 million head, has several headwinds.
In Texas, a year ago, David Anderson, an AgriLife Extension economist at Texas A&M, and Jason Cleere, an Extension beef cattle specialist, reported the state’s cattle herd was at 4.1 million head, the smallest since 2014. Hurt by drought’s impact on forage production, numbers have struggled to rebuild. Texas carries 14.6% of the United States herd.
Other High Plains states have also noted their own share of headwinds. In these times we need to thank ranchers who are doing their part to support the economy.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, cattle production is the most important agricultural industry in the country, consistently accounting for the largest share of total cash receipts for agricultural commodities. In 2023, cattle production was forecast to represent about 17% of the $520 billion in total cash receipts for agricultural commodities.
In addition to having the world’s largest fed-cattle industry, the U.S. is also the world’s largest consumer of beef—primarily high-value, grain-fed beef.
Texas, Nebraska and Kansas are the nation’s top producers of cattle. Texas has 12.2 million head of cattle and calves, followed by Nebraska at 6.05 million and Kansas, 5.95 million, Oklahoma at 4.7 million. Missouri, South Dakota, Iowa, and Colorado are also highly ranked in beef production. Whether it is a rancher with a cow-calf operation, a backgrounder, feeder or feedlot operator, each plays an important role feeding our country.
When it comes to beef production, the High Plains is king and the multipliers cement that relationship with lenders, landlords, equipment dealers, suppliers, and veterinarians.
A study five years ago from South Dakota State University looked at its state where 1.61 million beef cows were noted on Jan. 1, 2012, and they produced 1.71 million calves that year and the industry produced an estimated $2.28 billion in gross income and it also provided another $1.87 billion in indirect impact. Impressively, the study reported that for each dollar of economic activity in the beef industry another $0.95 of economic activity in the rest of the South Dakota economy.
Cattle production is important in Nebraska where farms and ranchers use 45.2 million acres, which is about 91% of the state’s total land, according to the state’s beef council. Cattle turn grass from 24 million acres of rangeland and pasture, which is more than half of Nebraska’s land mass, into protein and many other products for humans.
The land grazed by cattle allow more people to be fed than would otherwise be possible, the Nebraska Beef Council said.
While prices are at record levels for some ranchers, a seasoned producer knows that planning for a downtime is a must while staying optimistic. Weather, market interruptions and regulations are enough to make a rancher in the Flint Hills of Kansas uneasy because he knows it takes several years before a calf he raises eventually winds up as a prime cut.
Sage advice from those ranchers is to not take it for granted and even as independent business operators, they need to work in a collaborative approach to build success.
Consumers are eager to sink their teeth into a hamburger or steak on Memorial Day and that takes investment and commitment from the beef industry.
Dave Bergmeier can be reached at 620-227-1822 or [email protected].
