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R-CALF CEO says supply imbalance is slowing cattle herd expansion efforts

The head of R-CALF USA says the supply and demand imbalance is impacting expansion in the cattle herd.  

CEO Bill Bullard says the current environment in the cattle sector is making any significant growth difficult. “Right now, we have record high beef prices, record high cattle prices, record high imports, and the smallest cattle herd in 75 years,” he says.   

The Trump administration has floated increasing imports of beef to curb the prices consumers pay. “We said, if you do that, then what we need is phase-in quotas in the future,” he says. 

Bullard tells Brownfield herd expansion takes time, and it’s not going to happen without some assurances. “We have to restore confidence in the minds of producers,” he says.  “And one way to do that is to promise to them that, yes, imports are at record highs today, but three years from now, when you begin the expansion process, we will limit the volume that comes in and can potentially undercut your prices.” 

R-CALF’s meeting runs through Thursday.  

AUDIO: Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA