A few things have been lost in the recent beef-industry beef over imports and the size of the domestic herd. Yes, the cattle herd is at a seven-decade low, but we’re producing about the same amount of beef as when the herd was its largest in 1975 and imports are vital for making the modern system work for everyone.
Yes, recent drought conditions have certainly played a role in reducing the herd size, but the overall trend has been a smaller herd producing roughly the same amount of beef. Over the past several decades the cattle industry has undergone the same evolution as the rest of production agriculture. Just like how we grow more bushels of grain on fewer acres today than in the past, ranchers, feeders and packers produce more beef from each animal.
Raising a harvest-ready calf requires a significant time investment not to mention the pasture, hay and grain in addition to supplemental nutrition and veterinary care.
Roughly speaking, this efficiency has increased the amount of beef created from each animal by 50 percent through selective breeding, dialed in diets and better carcass utilization practices.
Some of these improvements are factored into the current price of cattle, b...