By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Major upheaval in U.S. cattle markets during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased attention on the gap between high beef prices and low cattle prices. Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) plans to address that issue and others during an upcoming webinar on July 9.
The webinar, Today’s Volatile Cattle Industry, will feature U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach and TFB President Russell Boening.
Ibach will address prime cattle industry topics including market manipulation in the cattle sector, beef supply chain issues, Country of Origin Labeling and livestock risk management coverage.
In his role as under secretary, Ibach facilitates domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products and ensures the health and care of animals and plants.
“The level of frustration with market volatility among cattle producers is high,” TFB National Legislative Director Laramie Adams said. “Texas ranchers have been reaching out to Texas Farm Bureau to share the challenges they are facing, and the under secretary can directly relate as a cow-calf rancher in Nebraska. His role at USDA makes him an excellent resource to discuss the ins and outs of current market challenges.”
The webinar will give Texas cattlemen and women the opportunity to hear about the current state of the cattle economy, as well as the future for the cattle industry, from Ibach.
“Our members are seeing and feeling the effects of the market downturn, and that makes it difficult to operate a farm and ranch,” TFB President Russell Boening said. “The futures market has been incredibly volatile, and the coronavirus is just the latest in a string of misfortunes that have kept the farm and ranch economy down for several years.”
Click here to register for the July 9 webinar via Zoom. The webinar will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is expected to last one hour.
Registration will remain open until the webinar begins. You must pre-register to receive the link to participate in the webinar, because each link is unique to an individual.
Questions can be submitted in advance when registering online, and questions will also be accepted during the webinar.
This is the second in a series of webinars for Texas farmers, ranchers and landowners TFB intends to host this summer in response to the cancellation of the TFB Summer Conference.
For more information, email Adams at ladams@txfb.org.