New Report Examines Cattle Market Issues & Solutions
On August 9 a fire broke out at one of the largest beef packing plants in the U.S., significantly impacting beef markets in the days and weeks that followed. The fire, at a plant in Holcomb, Kansas, which accounted for 5 to 6 percent of processing capacity before the fire, stressed an already sensitive balance between processing capacity and a growing fed cattle supply. A new report unveiled today by the American Farm Bureau Federation provides an in-depth examination of the causes and price implications resulting from extreme market volatility in the cattle industry. It also sets the stage to explore policy solutions.
The Cattle Market Working Group, comprised of 10 state farm Bureau presidents, spent more than two months investigating factors that led to market disruptions following the Holcomb packing plant fire and the COVID-19 pandemic. They invited input and consultation from government and university experts, among others.
The report is designed to equip state and county Farm Bureau organizations with deep insight and policy considerations as Farm Bureau leaders debate policy recommendations for 2021.