Agricultural News
NCBA President Jennifer Houston on the State of the Cattle Industry, Highlights Potential Opportunities
Mon, 29 Jul 2019 12:06:47 CDT
At the recent Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association Convention, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with Jennifer Houston, owner/operator of East Tennessee Livestock Center and president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. During their visit, Houston talked about the current state of the industry from a market perspective and how producer sentiment has been affected by current trends and opportunities that have arisen.
"I've had the opportunity to go to a lot of states and state meetings and by and large I think (producers) are pretty optimistic. I'm optimistic- Everybody talks about some prices - cull cows in particular - they'd like to see a little higher, but demand remains very strong both domestically and internationally," Houston said. "So, we're not in a terrible place and I think most people are optimistic about there being some opportunities for the beef industry for this year and the coming year."
Specifically, Houston says there is significant potential for the US to either open new markets or to gain greater access to existing markets and export more domestic product around the globe. In addition, new opportunities with traceability and animal identification are currently being explored as well. Houston says this is one issue that the industry is not totally unified on yet, but says stakeholders certainly recognize the benefits a traceability system would offer in terms of the development of value-added programs and increased control of risk related to the spread of disease.
"Just a lot of little things and the opportunity to tell our story," she remarked. "I think we're getting more and more press and facts out there about our sustainability story and the good story we have to tell about the industry."
Listen to Hays and Houston's full conversation regarding the current state of the cattle industry and the opportunities she sees on the horizon, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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