NCGA
Producers Committed to Providing Beef Producers High-Quality Product
(8-6-03)
Editor’s
note: Livestock and poultry are corn’s biggest customers, consuming
58% of the nation’s crop in 2002. In the upcoming weeks, NCGA
will look at the various sectors of this key market. This week we
take a look at beef.
Beef, a staple of the American
diet and nostalgic reminder of the Old West, is a key market for the
nation’s corn growers. With 5,600 million bushels of corn consumed
by all livestock sectors, the National Corn Growers Association is
committed to focusing on livestock and production-related issues to
support the domestic livestock and poultry industry.
The beef industry faces
a myriad of challenges, says NCGA Corn Board member John Tibbits.
Among the challenges include a decline in domestic beef consumption,
continuing national, state and local environmental regulations and
imports of grains to feed livestock and poultry sectors.
“We’re seeing
a lot of grain being moved from major corn producing areas to major
livestock feeding areas, which could be a good 500-600 miles apart,”
he said. “That and a decline in beef can impact the corn producer
from that standpoint that we have a smaller customer base. By the
same token, as we approach a renewable fuels standard and ethanol,
the DDGS (distillers dried grains with solubles) coproducts provide
a considerable outlet and favorable price structure to the corn grower
to recapture some balance.”
Livestock producers are
adept at adapting to challenges, he said. And some challenges such
as the recent incident of mad cow disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy)
or BSE in Canada have some positives, including working closely with
Canadian and USDA officials to ensure public safety on both sides
of the border.
In regard to increasing
regulations and export issues, such as Japan’s decision to increase
tariffs on U.S. chilled beef imports, Tibbits said the U.S. Meat Export
Federation and the National Cattleman’s Beef Association are
working on export issues and in-country labeling issues. Tibbits urges
beef producers to be involved with their state and national livestock
associations in order to stay abreast of the issues and be prepared
to implement changes as they occur.
“As corn producers we more or less drive along as passengers;
we’re not driving the train as it relates to beef issues, but
we are a vital need on the train. We are a consistent, high- quality
supply of a valuable asset to the livestock industry. We need to be
a dependable constant supplier. And as changes occur that effect our
major customer, we must adapt and change too.”
For information
regarding issues affecting livestock producers, such as the Canadian
BSE incident, visit www.usda.gov.