July pork exports up 5%, beef exports down 18%

Sep 08, 2023

July was quite an eventful month for our meat industry. Pork was the star, but beef? Well, it had its ups and downs.

Let’s talk about numbers. Data from the bigwigs, USDA and USMEF, paints an exciting picture for pork. July exports rose by 5%, touching 219,014 metric tons. And the cherry on top - The value increased by 1%, hitting $628.7 million. Major applause to our friends in Mexico, Central America, and Canada, who were the star consumers. If we look at the January-July period, we've already beaten last year's numbers by 13% in pork exports.

Beef, on the other hand, had a tough time in July. Exports dropped by a significant 18%, making it the weakest month in half a year. This slump amounted to 103,167 metric tons with a value of just over $810 million. The decline in pork exports is due to lower demand from key Asian markets. Even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. Places like Taiwan and Mexico have kept the flame alive for US beef.

And a quick word on lamb. After a couple of slow months, it made a comeback in July, rising by 22% from last year. Great news for lamb lovers!

July was a mixed bag for the meat industry. Pork is riding high, beef is hoping for better days, and lamb, It’s back in the game.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.