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Dairy farmer suggests alternative to Argentine beef imports

A dairy farmer is opposed to importing beef from Argentina.  Mike Yager farms near Mineral Point in southwestern Wisconsin.  He tells Brownfield there’s a way to increase beef supplies while helping to solve another problem. “I think that maybe we need to encourage sales of dairy cows, strictly going to slaughter. That will put beef on the market and ultimately, take care of this supposed surplus of milk.”

Yager says milk prices are not very good because processors have a surplus of milk and butterfat. “Because, what does a one percent surplus do to our price? It drops it three, four, five bucks a hundredweight.”

Yager is also concerned about bringing live cattle in from south of the border because of New World Screwworm infestations in Mexico.

Yager says dairy margins will get worse when feed prices begin to rise.  He says that coupled with lower or no milk premiums and higher processor make allowances are reasons raising beef on dairy has been popular.  He says culling some milk cows would bring farmers additional income, and tightening the milk supply should improve milk prices.

Yager says it would make more sense to help American farmers than to increase Argentine beef sales.