Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins unveiled a new LRP endorsement as ranchers debated USDA’s role in herd rebuilding.
USDA Heifer Retention Plan Targets 75-Year-Low U.S. Cattle Herd
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At the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins promoted a new Livestock Risk Protection endorsement designed to help ranchers retain heifers for breeding. The insurance option is part of USDA’s effort to rebuild a U.S. cattle herd now at a 75-year low. U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper questioned the government’s approach and argued that long-term profitability—not additional assistance—is the better signal for producers to expand their herds.
Transcript
Sec. Brooke Rollins rode in a tractor at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, this week, and in a pair of speeches shared the initiatives of the USDA.
Rollins touted the Trump Administration’s progress in modernizing the gathering and dissemination of ag production data and the expansion of biofuel production and availability.
The Secretary also commented on the new effort to grow the beef herd by using Livestock Risk Protection to protect the economic value of heifers kept for breeding stock versus heifers sent to feedlots.
The LRP for heifers is similar to LRP products for fed cattle, swine and feeder cattle, which are subsidized by taxpayers by 35 to 55 percent depending on the terms of the policy.
Sec. Brooke Rollins, USDA: “Yesterday, we talked about the new effort to retain heifers under the Beef Retention and National Development Endorsement brand, a fast tracked new heifer retention endorsement for our traditional livestock risk protection programs in LRP. You can read more about that on our website, and hear more about it from your frontliners at FSA, and allowing producers to ensure the economic value of retaining a heifer for breeding over a two, three, 4 or 5 year period.”
South Dakota rancher and U.S. Cattlemen’s Association president Justin Tupper questioned the government’s role in rebuilding.
Justin Tupper, U.S. Cattlemen's Association: “It's we've seen a lot of those LPs and it's going to work like an LRP somehow. And I'm not sure I understand exactly how they're going to be able to figure that back. I think it has a lot of things that have to be worked out before it can, but a much better way to signal that we're going to grow the herd is to have profitability and sustainability within the marketplace. And the way we're going to do that is keep the government the heck out of our business, because that any of the ranchers that I talked to, they're not reaching for a handout. They don't want any of those things. We'd much rather have a free and fair market.”
A falling heifer slaughter rate over the past two years is seen by analysts as an early signal that ranchers may be starting to rebuild the herd. This comes more than seven years of herd contraction.
The 90 day pause on tariffs to allow more lean beef trimmings to enter the U.S. has taken effect, an action that has angered many in the beef business.
Sec. Brooke Rollins, USDA: “And so from my perspective, the five things we announced yesterday, the additional 10 to 15 we're going to be announcing later this week, I believe everyone will look back on this time and say, okay, didn't love the three month lift of the TRQ, but we're so grateful to a president that is willing to listen, willing to make big, bold decisions, and willing to put it all out there for our American producers.”
Justin Tupper, U.S. Cattlemen's Association: “I don't think the consumer will see one penny less, I really don't. The only people that can possibly make money are the importers and the retailers. They already know the consumer will pay this much for it. That's how the price point has worked forever.”
Secretary Rollins also suggested closed processing plants would not be purchased by foreign entities.
For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs.
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