Cattle producers want herd rebuilding strategy

 On the last day of August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said rebuilding the nation’s cattle herd is a priority and it unveiled programming to make that happen.

If Canada wants to re-build its herd and attract new entrants into the business, a similar initiative would be helpful, says a cattle producer from Whitewood, Sask.

However, the government shouldn’t be focused on cattle numbers. The objective should be levelling the playing field and reducing the financial risk of expansion.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canada’s cattle herd has been shrinking for the last 20 years, while global demand for meat has been climbing. Would a national strategy help rebuild the herd?

“The end goal isn’t a bigger cow herd. The end goal is to make the business environment right … (so) producers want to grow,” said Ryan Beierbach, vice-president of the Canadian Cattle Association.

U.S. rolls out rebuild package

U.S. agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins announced a package of actions to rebuild the “Great American Cattle Herd,” including tools to help cattle producers manage financial risk.

This comes amid a push from the Trump administration to address record high beef prices. In late August, Trump signed an executive order to temporarily increase the quantity of lean beef trimmings that can be imported without tariffs.

That move drew immediate, strong backlash from the American beef sector.

A new program called Beef Retention and National Development will reduce the price risk of keeping a heifer in the herd by ensuring the “economic value of retaining a heifer for a two-year period.”

“(This) would establish a protected value based on the expected slaughter value of the heifer at the time of enrollment,” the USDA said.