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USDA projects beef production to decline in 2025

In its latest Supply and Demand report, the USDA has lowered its beef production estimate for 2025.

The U.S. border remains closed to imports of feeder cattle from Mexico to prevent New World screwworm from entering the United States.

Scott Brown says that largely impacted the USDA’s December numbers. “USDA told us for their 2025 beef production estimate they turned out here in December 25.7 billion pounds of beef to be produced,” he says.  That’s a reduction of 615 million pounds from what they said in November.”

While a date hasn’t been established for imports to resume, he tells Brownfield the idea that we’ll be without Mexican cattle for all of 2025 might be a little extreme. “But, the USDA has tended to take this strategy in other commodities when trade has been disrupted like this,” he says.

On Friday the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced $165 million in emergency funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation to protect U.S. livestock and other animals from the pest.  The funding would also help the USDA’s ongoing efforts to control its spread.