WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — The White House is reportedly preparing a series of actions aimed at lowering consumer costs and addressing pressures in the beef industry. According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, the administration is expected to announce several new measures later today.
Those reported efforts include lowering tariffs on beef and adjusting tariff-rate quotas, directing the Small Business Administration to increase lending support for ranchers, reducing protections for gray and Mexican wolves under the Endangered Species Act, and easing requirements for electronic ear tags in cattle.
The White House has not yet formally announced the plans, and additional details are expected later today.
U.S. cattle markets continue seeing strong price support, especially in the lean beef sector. Texas A&M Livestock Specialist Dr. David Anderson says cull cow prices are continuing to climb on strong demand for lean beef used in ground beef blends.
Southern Plains auction prices for cull cows reached nearly $180 per hundredweight in late April, while cutter cow prices are up nearly 25 percent since January.
Anderson says heavier-fed cattle carcasses are yielding more fat trim, increasing the need for lean beef to balance ground beef production during grilling season.
“Well, I think it’s worth remembering: cow prices tend to increase from late in the fall one year, when the prices are at their lowest, through about midyear of the next year — and this year is no different,” Dr. Anderson explains. “We’ve got prices continuing to climb, higher. You know, you hit grilling season, we’ve got tight supplies of cows, tight supplies of lean beef for ground beef, and people firing up the grills. And so we’ve got really all the underlying parts for rising prices, both the seasonal part, and certainly good demand for beef. And so, they all work together, just like we’ve seen on the fed cattle side. We’ve got some higher cull prices as well.”
Anderson also noted that total cow slaughter is running roughly five percent below last year’s pace, as historically high calf prices are encouraging producers to hold onto cows longer.
