Managing for Profit

2016 should be a good year for U.S. beef

The global demand for beef is expected to continue to grow in 2016 and the U.S. is in position to take advantage of that increase.  Don Close is Vice President of Food and Agribusiness Research for Animal Protein for Rabobank; he says cattle supplies are tight in Australia and Brazil while the U.S. herd has been growing.

The Chinese economy has slowed but there is still growing demand for beef and the country simply cannot raise enough feed to supply the needed animals.

Close says given food security questions in many parts of the world, there will be increasing pressure on U.S. producers to have some kind of animal ID system for traceback. There is also an increasing call for “sustainably grown” beef which Close says the U.S. is good at but there is room for improvement.