News
Beef contributes $3.8 billion to Missouri economy
Missouri Director of Agriculture Richard Fordyce says the proclamation of May Beef Month is especially appropriate in Missouri because of beef’s contribution to the state’s economy.
“Missouri is the number three cow-calf state in the country; $3.8 billion contributor to the economy,” Fordyce told Brownfield Ag News. “When you look at the economic contribution, it’s right up there at the very top. When you look at the number of farms that are beef farms that is at the top.”
Most cattle born in Missouri are finished on grain in neighboring states. Governor Nixon’s proclamation includes encouragement to finish more cattle in Missouri. Aurora, Missouri cattleman Glen Cope, who is chairman of the board of the Missouri Beef Industry Council, agrees that more cattle should be finished here.
“We need to try to do what we can to keep those cattle here, to retain ownership and add value to those cattle, take them to slaughter weight in our state, and that’s just something that I think through this beef initiative, through covered feeding operations we can get that accomplished,” said Cope, in an interview with Brownfield Ag News, “and I hope that’ll be a reality someday.”
Bolivar, Missouri cattleman Keith Stevens says the opportunity to finish more cattle in Missouri is enticing, but he compares building numbers of market ready cattle in Missouri to the chicken and egg scenario.
“At the current time we really don’t have the facilities to process if we really kick up the beef numbers that are finished here,” said Stevens, president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, “and we don’t have the numbers of beef to process to draw those facilities here.”
In Missouri, cattle are raised on 50,000 farms.
AUDIO: Richard Fordyce (1 min. MP3)
AUDIO: Keith Stevens and Glen Cope (4 min. MP3)
Tags: Cattle/Beef, Missouri
If the cattle market,hadn’t of been manipulated and the value decreased around 50% on each animal sold think of how much more money would of been put into the economy.