Have you ever been going about your daily grind, minding your own business, and then out of nowhere you catch a stray consequence of someone else’s actions?
That’s how some farmers and ranchers are feeling after the past few weeks’ actions — and words — coming out of Washington D.C.
Read MoreFeral hogs continue to be a scourge on U.S. agriculture, causing an estimated $1.6 billion per year in damage, which includes damage to property and crops as well as predation and diseases inflicted on domestic livestock.
Read MoreOn Friday, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into the nation’s largest meat-packing companies for potential collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation.
Read MoreAs temperatures drop, the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine reminds pet and livestock owners to take extra precautions to keep animals safe and healthy during the coldest months of the year. Cold weather can worsen medical conditions such as arthritis, and animals—like people—have different tolerances for low temperatures. LSU Vet Med veterinarians encourage owners to schedule preventive care exams to ensure pets and livestock are ready for winter.
Read MoreThe annual Louisiana Forage Conference will be held Dec. 5, giving attendees an opportunity to learn about tactics they can use for improved forage production and cattle management.
Read MoreNovember is an eventful month and by the time you read this article we will have set our clocks back 1 hour on Nov. 2 and we went to the voting polls to do our civic duty, Nov. 4. Looking forward, we celebrate those that are and have given their service for this great country on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 and we give thanks for all our many blessings living in this great country on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27.
Read MoreGrowing up on a poultry and cattle farm in Calhoun, Louisiana, I learned early that when you care for animals, you care for more than a product — you care for a way of life. Today, that way of life is facing new challenges, and not all of them come from droughts, prices, or hurricanes. Some come from policy decisions made far away from our pastures.
Read MoreCongressman Clay Higgins (R-LA), Governor Jeff Landry (R-LA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain held a roundtable discussion with Louisiana farmers, cattlemen, and aquaculture reps, focused on strengthening the state’s agricultural industry.
Read MoreIn an old coal-mining town in northern Texas, around 130 miles from Dallas/Fort Worth, Greg Buenger raises beef cattle on his ranch. But Buenger, also a Texas Farm Bureau District 3 state director and retired veterinarian, has his eyes elsewhere at the moment, far from the northern flatlands.
Read MoreOn Sunday, President Trump made waves with a proposal for dealing with high U.S. beef prices. “We would buy some beef from Argentina,” he said from Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington, D.C., according to the Associated Press. “If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the future of America’s beef supply.
Read MoreToday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler announced a suite of actions to strengthen the American beef industry, reinforcing and prioritizing the American rancher’s critical role in the national security of the United States. Since 2017, the United States has lost over 17% of family farms, more than 100,000 operations over the last decade. The national herd is at a 75-year low while consumer demand for beef has grown 9% over the past decade. Because increasing the size of the domestic herd takes time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing now to make these markets less volatile for ranchers over the long term and more affordable for consumers.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump on Wednesday said U.S. cattle ranchers “don’t understand” how they have benefitted from his tariffs, adding that they “have to get their prices down.”
The admonition came after some ranchers have openly criticized Trump’s proposal to import beef from Argentina in order to bring down prices for American consumers.
Read MoreU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins appeared Tuesday evening on NewsNation and said, “There is a really big announcement coming tomorrow on what we’re going to do to restore and revitalize our beef herd in America, which ultimately will bring the prices down.”
Read MoreToday, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) responded to comments from President Donald J. Trump that suggested importing Argentinian beef as a solution to lower beef prices. NCBA’s family farmers and ranchers are concerned that rewarding Argentina with this expanded access to the U.S. market harms American cattlemen and women, while also interfering with the free market.
Read More
