Former US agriculture secretary Mike Johanns has criticised the federal government's move to bring in more beef to lower prices, saying it came just as ranchers were finally making money. Speaking at an Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City, the former Nebraska governor and senator, who served under President George W. Bush, called the issue "white hot" in cattle country.

"If you would take the last 20 years in the cattle industry, 10 of those years I lost money, maybe 12," he said. "Finally, they're making some money, and the government steps in, and I just don't agree with that." Last month President Trump announced that 300,000 metric tons of lean beef could enter tariff-free over three months, to be sold as discounted ground beef.

Johanns estimated the resulting fall in cattle values cost the average producer $250 to $500 a head, and said the saving to consumers would be modest, "maybe a few cents or something on a hamburger". Stronger returns had let ranchers repair their finances and think about expanding herds or buying land, he said. USDA has responded to industry criticism with plans to promote heifer retention, expand local processing and strengthen US-origin beef labels.

Recalling his own work reopening foreign markets to US beef after the 2003 BSE case, Johanns distinguished imports that are part of reciprocal trade from importing beef specifically to push domestic prices down. "To bring in beef to discount it, like there's something wrong with our beef here, that's not set well," he said. The report was written by Chris Clayton.

Photo: USDA / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Source: DTN / Progressive Farmer