North Central Illinois | Dirk Diggler - 8/21/2026 10:24
Why aren’t more American cattle producers expanding???
The market is telling you to expand.
I realize that the original post included Trump, but since this isn’t TPP, I’m trying to keep it about supply and demand.
The market is trying to tell us to expand, but expansion requires saving heifers that are priced at a level that hasn't been seen before and government policy is screaming that these price levels are not going to be allowed to stay.
Would you buy another farm to grow grain on if government policy makers were doing everything they can to reduce the value 30-50%?
Today, cow calf producers have the best margins I know of in my lifetime, but also the highest risk. Established producers with no debt on cows and operating expenses are only risking opportunity cost whereas expansion, especially by new producers leveraging with substantial debt it is a very high risk endeavor. |
Trump and beef
