Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2021

Where’s the Beef?
Post-Covid challenges
face industry
BY carter mommsen
eastern iowa farmer
is it so expensive?”
This is a common
“Why
phrase in the year
2021. Many products cost more as the
result of the recent pandemic, which has
impacted millions of people across America.
Beef is one item that experienced a
price surge due to the lack of available
laborers, which were cut short because of
widespread illness and increased restrictions.
Unfortunately, many people have
placed the blame of the increased costs
on farmers. The general public sees the
expensive price tag on products, such as
beef, in the grocery store and immediately
assumes farmers are the only ones
profiting from the soaring prices. That is
simply not the complete story.
Beef processing plants, also referred
to as packers, predominantly control the
sale price of live cattle and determine the
profit margins the farmer will earn from
each live animal sold.
There are currently four main U.S.
packers, which process most of the beef
produced in our country. The lack of
competition has resulted in what some
refer to as a quasi-monopoly in the beef
industry. It is something that has caught
the attention of the federal government,
which is currently investigating the matter
on behalf of producers. Another factor
in increased beef prices may also be a
widespread lack of drivers in the transportation
industry, coupled with the influx
of online shopping over the past year.
One way to combat the issue seems to
be bypassing the packer and increasing
competition within the marketplace by
supporting construction of locally owned
packing plants and locally sourced beef.
Creating additional sale outlets for beef
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo / Contributed
Carter Mommsen shows his Angus heifer in the ring. Mommsen believes that locally sourced
beef and packing plants can help create a more fair cattle market.
gives consumers more retailers to choose
from and increases competition. This also
gives producers added outlets to sell their
products to, and may begin to make the
cattle market fair again. For example, in
Camanche, Iowa, a town right outside of
Clinton, a cattle producer located in Eastern
Iowa is putting up their own beef processing
plant. They will begin processing
approximately 50 head of cattle per day.
Other local producers are selling their
animals directly to the public, cutting out
the middle-man, and increasing their profit
margins while delivering a reasonably
priced product to those within their own
community. We, farmers and ranchers,
can and should take actions like this to
ensure the future of the cattle industry
stays profitable and small producers
remain viable.
As I have said before, producers need
to tell their side of the story by using
common social media such as Facebook,
Instagram and other platforms. You can
help promote the good work that all people
involved in the agriculture industry
accomplish daily. It is as easy as sharing
a photo of you doing chores, tending the
crops, or anything agriculture-related.
This small contribution could impact
hundreds, even thousands of not only
Americans but people across the globe.
By presenting the positive side of agriculture,
we educate people who do not have
the privilege to experience living on a
farm, and then they may pass this positive
information along helping to eliminate
false opinions.
— Carter Mommsen, a freshman at
Northeast High School, is a member of
the CAC Media Group
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