• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Agriculture / Iowa Cattlemen face deep price drop, seek federal assistance

Iowa Cattlemen face deep price drop, seek federal assistance

March 20, 2020 By O. Kay Henderson

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association is asking Iowa’s congressional delegation and the US agriculture secretary to provide immediate federal assistance to cattle producers.

Matt Deppe, the association’s CEO, says the dramatic drop in the cattle futures market in the past week alone has put cattle producers in harm’s way.

“In the cattle business, we’re not one that as a producer group that typically goes out and asks for some assistance back,” Deppe says, “but certainly that swing was certainly unpredictable.”

Prices for the boxed beef that meatpacking companies sell to retailers are strong, but the contracts farmers are getting for selling live cattle at a future date have fallen to a 10-year low.

Deppe says the recent government payments to compensate Iowa farmers for trade losses did not include cattle producers and his industry needs federal supports now, “so they can live in fight another day and they can live to supply such a great product and feed the United States and others around the world.”

In addition to the price drop, cattle producers are concerned they may not be able to get enough feed for cattle without some sort of federal assistance.

“Our producers are telling us that it’s absolutely needed to maintain their seat in the chair,” Deppe says.

There are more than 25,000 cattle producers in Iowa and on January 1st, there were nearly four million head of cattle in the state.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Agriculture, News Tagged With: Coronavirus, Pork/Cattle

Featured Stories

All bodies of missing now recovered from rubble of collapsed Davenport building

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

What may be rare Michael Jordan trading card found in unclaimed deposit box

Hawkeye women to play Virginia Tech

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 6/5/23

Iowa eliminated at NCAA regional

Iowa names Beth Goetz interim AD

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC