Last week, Gov. Pete Ricketts declared May as Beef Month in Nebraska.
When we think of beef, we often think of ranches, pastures, and rolling hills, Ricketts said. But its more than that. Its a main economic driver in our state. It generates jobs throughout the entire supply chain.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant challenges to Nebraskas agricultural economy, especially for cattle, pork, and poultry producers. They have been affected by both price decreases and significant logistical challenges connected to the slowdown or closure of meat-processing facilities.
Nebraska Farm Bureau (NEFB) has determined that Nebraska revenue losses alone will total $823 million, or 10% of the states cattle receipts in 2018.
To address those problems, NEFB is urging Congress to support additional funding for agriculture in any pandemic response package that moves through Congress.
For pork and poultry producers, the possibility of needing to euthanize animals is quickly becoming a reality due to the closure of packing plants across the country, said Steve Nelson, NEFB president. It is hoped President Trumps recent executive order will provide for the safe reopening of those plants, as soon as possible.
In this next round of funding, Nelson said, NEFB would strongly support three specific efforts that would help the entire agriculture industry.
We hope more funds can provide any necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to meatpacking facilities to ensure the safety of those who are working so hard to process the livestock produced by our members and needed by the rest of the nation and world, Nelson said. Additional funds are needed to support an indemnity program to help compensate producers who have had to euthanize animals.
He said funds are also needed to provide monetary assistance to those contract producers who dont own the animals but are contracted to care for and feed them.
Those producers were unfortunately left out of the USDAs Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) but will likely still see monetary losses due to fewer or even no animals running through their facilities, said Nelson.
He said cattle and dairy producers are also experiencing significant economic loss during this crisis as market downturns and packing plant slowdowns are hitting their bottom lines.
According to a recent analysis conducted by a number of agricultural economists and led by Dr. Derrell Peel from Oklahoma State University, the U.S. cattle industry is expected to experience losses of $13.6 billion due to the pandemic. Those losses are expected to largely occur within the cow-calf sector, with losses totaling an estimated $3.7 billion, or $111.91 per head for each mature breeding animal in the United States.
Nelson said NEFB broke the analysis down further to determine Nebraskas loss in cattle receipts.
He said NEFB also estimates that Nebraska dairy producers stand to lose $69 million to $87 million, depending on the class of milk. While cattle and dairy producers will likely see some support from USDAs CFAP, it will likely fall short of covering the needs of these industries.
We hope Congress can include another round of funding for our states cattle and dairy producers who make up billions of dollars in economic activity in our state, and ensure any payment limits, if needed, would be significantly increased to realistically capture the capital needed in all segments of the livestock industry, Nelson said.
Coming into 2020, Nebraskas animal slaughter industry was part of a record year of commercial red meat production across the country.
Nelson said the livestock industry is extremely important to Nebraskas economy as well as our nations food supply.
According to the USDA, Nebraska placed second in commercial red meat production, behind Iowa, in 2019. Nebraska produced 8.289 billion pounds, compared to 8.106 billion pounds in 2018. Iowa had 8.624 billion pounds in red meat production.
Last year, Nebraska packing plants processed 7,660 million head of cattle, compared to 7,452 million head in 2018. That 2019 total represented 10.727 billion pounds in 2019, compared to 10.483 billion pounds in 2018. Average live weight in 2019 was 1,401 pounds, compared to 1,408 pounds in 2018.
Nebraska hog packing plants slaughtered 8.012 million head in 2019, compared to 7.873 million head in 2018. Last year, that represented 176.6 million pounds, with the average live weight at 284 pounds.
Last year, Nebraska beef producers marketed 9 billion pounds of beef for a value of $10.562 billion. Also, Nebraska pork producers marketed 1.5 billion pounds of pork for a value of $872 million.
Nelson said as Congress continues to provide much-needed aid to many segments of the nations economy, We believe our nations agricultural industry, and more specific our livestock industry, must be included in the next package that moves to the presidents desk.
More here:
Nebraska Farm Bureau seeks additional help for agriculture industry - Grand Island Independent
