If you think about the ranching business right now there is a lot to not be worried about. We had a record winter in the west, so there will be plenty of moisture this upcoming season. However, there was a downside to the winter with a lot of stress visited upon cows and baby calves.
I believe the message that grazing animals for food is a sustainable way to convert sunlight, forage and water into a palatable human food source by utilizing otherwise marginal land is finally being widely acknowledged as one of many solutions to help feed an ever-growing world population. The technology and genetic innovation to help this notion to be more accepted is also a part of the reason to be optimistic.
In the cow-calf sector the early markets are producing budget inflating prices and it looks like the trend will hold through the summer auctions. The supply chain slow downs and backups we experienced during the COVID pandemic are fading memories now and things seem normal again. Finally, there appears to be no slowing of the consumers’ taste for beef.
In fact, demand for beef is very high as we enter the beginning of the grilling season. But there is a decrease in cattle processing and carcass weights which is resulting in lower beef production. This diminishing supply means higher prices at the meat case in grocery stores. This leads me to ask the above question twice- should I, or rather you and I be worried?
Recently I bought four choice filet mignon steaks because we were having some friends over for a barbeque. The price tag was a little over twenty dollars, so it worked out to about five dollars apiece for the steaks. If you think about that, this high quality very tasty meat was less than a combination meal at your favorite fast food burger place. Whereas before thinking about this anecdote I might have worried we were pricing ourselves out of the marketplace, now I am not so sure. I have read pork is not taking over much of beef’s market share and there is evidence poultry is not being invasive either because consumers are bored with the taste of chicken. Thus, if we do not have to be worried about the marketplace, with what do we have to concerns?
This leads to another thing to not be concerned about. Global demand for the beef we produce in this country continues to grow. We are the standard by which the rest of the world measures quality. This can only mean that as long as American beef producers continue on the path we are now seeking to constantly improve our out put we will have markets overseas. This helps with the food security needs of the whole world, not just the United States.
Speaking of food security, across the world, but especially here, animal agriculture is one of the solutions for the need to feed a growing population. The term upcycling is becoming more well known. Essentially it means what ruminants do best. By eating things humans can’t- grasses, leaves, crop residue, byproducts like distillers’ grains, and food waste, for example, and by utilizing land that can’t grow crops, the ruminant provides us a high-quality protein source that we otherwise would not have. They upcycle these other things to help feed the world.
I have written about this recently but, should we be worried about plant-based meat like products and lab grown meat from animal protein cells? I would say the bloom is off the rose so to speak. Plant based meat substitutes just don’t taste good. Don’t ask me, ask the customers of famous burger joints who tried the product after significant advertising rolling out the choice and declined to come back except to choose their favorite beef burger. This caused the chain to rethink its offering and the menu item went the way of all fake stuff. As for the cell-based lab grown protein the inputs are so great, and the taste isn’t there that these companies are losing money and not fulfilling the goal of trying to save the planet one burger at a time.
Speaking of which, that planet saving goal is based upon the false premise that animal agriculture is a significant contributor to global climate change and if we just get rid of all those animals the target to reduce the carbon footprint in our atmosphere will be easier to hit. Of course, by now anyone who has read the literature around this topic knows in the United States beef production contributes about 1.5 percent of our carbon dioxide emissions and all of agriculture contributes less than 15 percent around the world. As I wrote above, think of upcycling as a solution, not a contributor to the problem of climate change.
Let’s go back to the initial question. I believe anyone who is involved in production agriculture should always be a little worried. However, discussing the shortened list of topics above and analyzing them on the worry meter, I think I come out more optimistic than pessimistic. I’ll let you come to your own conclusion.
I’ll see you soon