34 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN September 2026 program will be expensive, but how much and who will foot the bill is yet to be determined. Voluntary programs work. There are already opportunities that give producers the option to label their product. We do on the ranch. I have seen small packers and producers of all sizes that are currently doing the work and voluntarily labeling their product in niche markets. It can work, but why more aren’t doing it? Maybe the economics aren’t there. So, what would make us think they would be in a mandated program? “Product of USA” labels have provided a lot of clarity for those who read labels, and the number of small/regional packers that are now labeling under that opportunity continues to grow. It shows that there can be a voluntary label that processors will get behind. There was an interesting point recently made on social media. Cattle aren’t native to the United States, meaning all cattle had to be imported at one point. Imports are important, mostly because we do a really good job of making cattle fat. The problem is that 53 percent of the beef marketed in the United States is ground beef, and we cannot make ground beef out of just fat. Most of the imported beef that comes into the United States is lean trim that is mixed into that fat. The numbers say that, without that imported product, we would have around 20 to 30 percent less ground beef in the marketplace. Critics say the United States could adapt to and support that shift in ground beef production, but in reality, U.S. packers would have to grind more valuable cuts, which would mean an overall decrease in carcass value. Imported muscle cuts have also become a bigger concern as those are direct competition to U.S. product. I have seen grocery stores that carry product labeled from other countries. Does the consumer care? If you look at the data, meat counter decisions are focused first on taste, cost and more. So, if a foreign muscle cut is side by side in a meat cooler with an equivalent-looking cut from the United States but is $4 per pound cheaper, data shows the consumer will purchase the cheaper product. If we are actually concerned about imports, focus on quotas instead. Make it a disadvantage to countries to export to the United States because of the tax implications. Are all mandated programs bad? No, but when we start talking about mandated programs, I think it’s important to move the emotion out of it and ask how will it be regulated, who will pay for it, how will it be tracked, what will happen to beef demand and will it really make a difference to the consumer when other factors are involved? If all of those questions can be answered, we may be on the right track. But until then, we believe there will be a lot of unintended consequences if no one can answer any of those important questions. ~NC~ MCOOL AND THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32 FORAGE EVERY EVERY SEASON Alfalfa & AlfaGrass Broadleaves & Legumes Perennial & Annual Forages 605.627.1901 millbornseeds.com
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