Viewpoints / The Zipline, 02 June 2021
For every $1 Americans spend on food, just 14.3 cents go to farmers. As the first link in our food supply chain, farmers and ranchers don’t get to set the price of their products and assume incredible risk with every planting and each herd of animals.
We take great pride in caring for our animals and spend countless hours making sure they are healthy and safe. Our livelihoods depend on it, so when it comes time to sell them, farmers and ranchers deserve a fair deal. Many farmers and ranchers can recall years when they fell short of breaking even because of low prices for their products, but we do our best to push forward hoping the next year is better. However, after years of feeling like the market squeezes small and medium-sized farms out of operation, some cattle producers aren’t optimistic the future will be better unless action is taken.
By working together, we can leverage the power of our collective voice to further elevate the issue and ensure a fair and transparent marketplace for livestock producers.
Even before the pandemic, farmers and ranchers watched as the price for their cattle fell while the price of beef leaving processing facilities increased. When one of the largest beef processing facilities in the country was knocked out of commission by a fire, cattle prices cratered while wholesale beef prices went up 12% in seven days. During the pandemic, the same trends were amplified and the effect was more widespread. Wholesale beef prices went up 25% in just seven days while the price paid to farmers dropped.
There was rightfully an outcry from ranchers across the country who were frustrated with the ongoing problems in cattle marketing. In April of 2020, the American Farm Bureau formed a working group to research the causes of the volatility in the cattle markets, consider policy options to address these issues and provide guidance to our members as they started the policymaking process.
