By Andrew Griffith
Assistant Professor, Livestock Marketing Specialist, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee
The question that struck a chord this week was “Can the cattle market expand the cattle herd?” After answering the question, the person clearly had a puzzled look so they asked the question in a different way. Their question was not “can” but rather “will” cattle producers expand the herd.
These are two completely different questions with different answers. In short, cattle producers certain “can” retain heifers and begin cattle herd expansion. Many would say aging producers and land loss would prevent the ability to expand, but land is underutilized and there are young producers who want in. They just do not know how to do it.
Source : osu.edu