Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), says currently USDA does not have plans for an incentive program to help rebuild the beef cow herd.
Woodall joined Farm Journal’s Chip Flory on “AgriTalk” Sept. 25. He was quick to dispel the idea of a herd rebuilding or replacement heifer incentive program.
“There is no financial incentive program,” he says. “Regardless of what you’ve heard, or who you have heard it from, that program does not exist.”
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins mentioned a potential incentive program in a news release on Sept. 21.
“In addition, USDA will soon release a significant plan to help rebuild the American cattle supply, incentivizing our great ranchers, and driving a full-scale revitalization of the American beef industry,” the release said.
Woodall explains how quickly the statement in the press release spread, noting it “lit like a grass fire” throughout the cattle industry and markets.
He points out that while Rollins’ team has been in contact with NCBA about potential support for cattle producers, a direct financial incentive is not part of their current plans.
“You can never rule out what the federal government might do,” Woodall says, but also emphasizes that based on current conversations, no immediate program is forthcoming.
Woodall suggests alternatives might include “rolling back some regulations” and making it “easier on cattle producers from a regulatory burden standpoint.”
A concern for Woodall is the potential market impact of an incentive. He says the NCBA team has specifically visited with Rollins’ team about how comments like an incentive program to rebuild the cow herd can have a significant market impact.
He was clear NCBA is not advocating for a financial incentive program, saying: “This is not something that NCBA is pushing for. It’s not something that we are endorsing.”
Thursday, Rollins was in Kansas City at the Ag Outlook Forum hosted by the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City. During her comments she said because the cattle industry has seen a big drop in producers over the last decade USDA is committed to rebuilding it.
“Low inventory and high demand is not sustainable if we want to feed ourselves,” Rollins says.
She did announce there is no current plan to offer payments to beef producers.
“No plan for direct payments is even under consideration,” she explains. “The government getting involved in markets can easily mess things up.”
The plan will focus more on risk-mitigation tools and hope to attract the new generation of farmers to enter the cattle industry. She says more details will come in mid-October.
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