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Beef Industry Issues
The beef industry has been a bright spot in agriculture, helping support farm income while crop producers face tighter margins. Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist Brad Lubben says questions remain about cattle supply, herd rebuilding, and consumer demand as trade conflicts create uncertainty for the road ahead.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. Beef industry policy issues are being studied by UNL students at the Krezinger Beef Industry Scholars Program. Nebraska extension ag policy specialist Brad Lubin says, the students are looking at specific issues like market risk, trade policies, traceability, labeling, and animal health. Brad points out that the beef industry has been a bright spot in agriculture, as other issues like crop production are facing challenges.
[Brad Lubben, Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist]
Yes, it's, it's, it's certainly, uh, a reality that the beef history is driving the state ag economy at the moment.
In fact, if we look at farm income numbers in general that I, uh, that I look at regularly, 4 years ago, the livestock sector and the crop sector were largely on par with each other in terms of total receipts.
This year, the livestock sector is more than twice the crop sector in terms of total receipts, and 90% of the livestock sector is cattle in Nebraska.
So we know it's the cattle industry.
We know prices are up.
We know it's because supplies are down.
The cattle herd is low, which limits the availability of feeder cattle and cattle to be fed.
And so it limits supplies.
Consumer demand is held up amazingly well.
And record prices have helped drive, drive receipts and profitability higher, all the way back through the supply chain.
It doesn't mean there aren't challenges and issues ahead, but certainly some of the issues are maybe a little bit less onerous given the great returns at the moment.
Fundamentally, I think of the cattle marketing, and there's a cattle marketing committee, discussion that happens at the national conference.
Oftentimes, cattle marketing committee is concerned about the competitiveness of the marketplace, whether there are ample bids, whether there is enough transparency and competition in the market to find and receive a fair price.
Well, at at this point in time, when cattle supplies are so short, it's actually the cattle producers that may have the most leverage in the market, as opposed to traditional perspectives, that it's the feeders in the agribusiness sector that has more control.
Well, at the moment, then cattle, uh, and ultimately cattle, uh, calf producers are, are benefiting from that, uh, that leverage in the market and, and suddenly price discovery isn't quite the issue with.
It's still an issue.
There are still concerns, there are still national discussions of concentration in the sector and an analysis of whether the sector is competitive or not.
But the immediate focus on price discovery and price transparency isn't quite the same as it is when prices are struggling.
That doesn't mean that producers don't face risk.
And that doesn't mean that producers aren't still concerned about the bottom line. At these record prices.
We also have record capital investments in those animals.
And volatility in the marketplace that is dramatic from one day or one week to the next.
So producers may be enjoying record prices and record returns for the moment.
They're also facing much greater risks than they have.
One of the tools that we see that's also discussed during these meetings and across the industry is the use of some of the newer risk management products.
Livestock revenue protection is a price risk management product.
The pasture range in forage program is a drought focused production management component helps you manage your grazing capacity.
So both of those insurance tools have really come on board in the last 20 to 25 years.
Both of those have grown dramatically in terms of their usage and have become an important part of the cattle producer's, uh, risk management portfolio.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was part one of a discussion on the beef industry issues. Stay tuned for part 2 where Brad discusses trade that affects both producers and consumers. To read the detailed article, or to hear the entire interview, go to UNL Center for ag profitabilitie’s website, at cap.unl.edu, or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify, for Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
2026 Weed Management Field Day
Nebraska growers looking for practical, in-season crop management information can attend the Weed Management Field Day June 24th at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center. Nebraska Extension Weed Management Specialist Amit Jhala says attendees will see demonstrations of emerging technologies and new herbicides for corn, soybean, and sorghum.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. The 2026 weed management field day is coming up Wednesday, June 24th at the South Central Ag Lab at Clay Center. Extension weed management specialists submit Jala says, attendees will see on-site demonstrations of new technologies, and hear about the latest research in weed control. There are 2 tours during the day, and it says the 1st tour will focus on weed management and soybeans, sorghum, and popcorn.
[Amit Jhala, Nebraska Extension Weed Management Specialist]
We have a number of projects to demonstrate, and that was the whole idea about conducting this extension field that I have been doing for the last 14 years is just to show the actual results of a number of studies that we conduct in for wind management, in soybean, corn, popcorn, and sorghum.
So the field day will start with demonstration of some of our weed management projects in soybean, particularly the focus is on how best you can utilize different herbicide programs for management of herbicide resistant weeds, including some non-chemical controlled method options such as how best you can utilize cover crops.
For example, cereal dry and heritage, or the cover crops for the focus of this year's field day.
And in addition, we will have some other projects in corn and also in sorghum, because now fertilizers are getting expensive.
So we have a project, how best we can utilize heritage, which is a legume cover crop, which has ability to fix the nitrogen in the soil and it can be readily available by the grass crop species.
For example, sorghum and popcorn.
So our idea here is how best we can reduce the fertilizer input and we can utilize this natural resource of nitrogen in collaboration with some other management practices and how best we can control these herbisa resistant weeds in sorghum and popcorn.
Both are very important crops in Nebraska.
Right.
So this will be something interesting and something new this year in the past.
We have done some studies with John Deere and Green Eye technology to test their system about Target weed management.
So this year, we are going to work with ecorobotics, ARA, it is an Israel, it is a Switzerland-based company, and now they are entering into the US market, particularly focusing on how best this precision sprayer can be used for target weed management, in soy bin, and how much chemical we can save just by target application compared with broadcast applications that we have been applying all the herbic right now, just with broadcast applications.
So that is the whole idea and the actual ecorobotics ARA machine will be here and we will do a live demonstration.
So this will be really interesting for anybody interested in agriculture, weed management, environment and saving chemicals.
In addition to weed management and soybean, sorghum, and popcorn.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Amit says there's an additional tour that primarily looks at weed control in corn.
[Amit Jhala, Nebraska Extension Weed Management Specialist]
The 2nd tour will focus more on how best we can utilize and integrate cover crops with existing herbicide programs.
So we can cut the herbicide applications and we can utilize cover crops, particularly early in the season.
So our idea is to terminate heritage at different growth stages of sorghum and popcorn.
Just we want to see how best it can suppress the weeds and it can reduce the soil erosion and it can also improve the soil health by improving soil organic matter.
To get more details and to register for the event, go to agronomy.unl.edu slash field day. Once again, that's agronomy.unl.edu slash field day for Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
International Trade and U.S. Beef
International trade continues to play a major role in the U.S. beef industry, impacting both cattle and beef markets through imports and exports. Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist Brad Lubben says opportunities for growth remain, with potential to expand access and demand in markets like China, Japan, and other countries.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. On a recent program, Nebraska extension specialist, Brad Lubin, talked about how the beef industry was a bright spot in agriculture, as opposed to how crop producers are facing challenges. On today's program, Brad focuses on how trade policies affect both the producer and the consumer.
[Brad Lubben, Nebraska Extension Ag Policy Specialist]
It is the quintessential question about trade and what's the benefit of trade.
And as a trade economist or as an economist studying trade policy issues, I would often characterize trade and the benefits of trade are fundamentally about consumers.
Consumers benefit from having new products or more products available and price competitiveness and so forth.
Trade politics tend to be about producers.
And it's supporting or protecting production, resources, and investments from competition from elsewhere. Whether it's fair or unfair.
Well, in the trade arena, the cattle industry, the beef industry, kind of lives in both sectors.
Um, They benefit from consumer demand that drives exports that drives domestic demand as well, certainly, but that drives exports.
And that's exports for some of the higher value products that the US produces, muscle cuts, steaks, and roast.
They also benefit from foreign consumer demand for variety meats.
The kinds of things that most Americans and consumers don't touch.
And so there's value in the carcass that otherwise wouldn't be there, were it not for the benefits of exports and the export of beef and beef products, globally.
There's also import competition and there is import competition in terms of live animals.
Arguably, that's because the US has a, I think, a comparative advantage in feeding animals and processing animals compared to its neighbors and compared to much of the world.
And so importing live animals from Canada, importing live animals from Mexico, when we don't have a New World screwworm outbreak to worry about.
Those are kinds of things that actually support the domestic industry as opposed to directly compete for prices for animals.
Well, it does offer more supply of animals.
So yes, a producer of animals thinks about imports as competition.
A producer of beef, thinks about trade as an opportunity.
And so there's there's always a distinction between which side of the trade.
Do you do you feel impacted by?
Um, the other reality, some of our imports are beef?
Well, that's imports typically of beef trim, lean beef trim.
That's what gets ground into our hamburger mix.
The US seems to be an outsized consumer of hamburger.
We love it in almost every form, and with the animals we produce, and the muscle cuts, and higher value animals that we're sending, or that were processing.
We have a shortage of beef trim to produce the mainstay hamburger blend.
And so getting that from elsewhere adds value to the tallow and the remainder of the carcass here as well.
So that's more of a complimentary import.
It's a complimentary good, not a substitute, but it looks like imports.
And so when we look at statistics, yes, it looks like we import more animals, we certainly do.
We import more pounds of beef.
We do.
Traditionally, we export more dollar value of beef than we import.
In the midst of trade conflict at the moment.
That's hurting a bit, but fundamentally, those are reasons why we focus so much on trade and trade issues.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
You can read the detailed article about issues facing the beef industry by going to UNL Center for agprofitabilities website at cap.unl.edu. You can listen to the entire interview by downloading from Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
Aging in Place in Rural Nebraska
As care options shrink in rural Nebraska, more attention is turning to helping older residents remain in their communities. Cindy Houlden with the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center says a new program is exploring solutions to support Nebraska’s growing senior population and address the decline in local healthcare facilities.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska extension almanac. The country's facing the realization that Elder Care could be moving into a crisis, as the population of Americans over 65 should double in the next 30 years. Cindy Holden from the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center says a program that focuses on training home care workers for the elderly should help ease the problem.
[Cindy Holden, Nebraska Cooperative Development Center]
Well, we are officially in the silver tsunami, which is when the majority of the population is now 65 and older and they're retiring.
And as you may have figured out as you get older.
Things happen to you, you become less healthy and may have health issues develop and some of those health issues lead to the need for care.
U.S. Census reports estimate that by the year 2060 will have 94.700000 Americans over the age of 65.
10,000 Americans retiring every day, hence the silver tsunami.
And for the 1st time in history, people over 65 outnumbered children under the age of five.
In Nebraska, in 2010, 13.5% of our population was 65 and older.
In 2020, that percentage was 16.4.
And 65 and older outnumbered those under 5 by 9%.
So we're getting older.
We just need people to care for us.
Additionally, in Nebraska alone, in the last 3 years, 12 Nebraska nursing homes have closed, and there are currently 15 Nebraska counties that have no access to nursing home or assisted living facility.
So when you get out to rule Nebraska as you get older, If you need care for a variety of reasons, there is literally nowhere for you to go.
Except to one of the larger communities, um, you know, so for example, you know, here I'm in Buffalo County, I'm in Kearney, we have facilities.
But if you go just a little bit to the, um, West to Furnace County, they don't.
So if they need somewhere to go, they're going to have to move to Phelps County or Gosper County or even Buffalo County to get care because they don't have care in these areas.
And it makes it hard for families to remain in their communities.
What a home care worker cooperative is, is it is a home care, um, agency that is owned by the workers.
So it's not owned by a corporate located, it could be incarnate, it could be in South Dakota, it could be in Chicago, it could be anywhere.
It is owned by the workers that live and work in the community where the care is provided.
So it's a really good economic model if you want to talk about self-empowerment and keeping wealth local.
Because if you and I formed a worker cooperative, we would make the investments, we would do the work and we'd share the profits.
They don't leave where we are.
And we get to make the decisions of what happens to those profits.
Those decisions aren't made by some corporate board.
And that's really important in these small rural communities. That want to keep their wealth in their communities.
So what the home care academy does is it takes a group of interested individuals through the process of forming a worker owned cooperative.
We talk about what it's like to own your own business, what are the things you know how to do?
And then we're able to connect them with resources nationwide.
The other cool thing that we help these communities do.
Is we help them create, um, some relationships with care providers across the country.
It's kind of like a support group for lack of a better word.
People that you can talk to and find out how much you have in common with others.
Because I think sometimes, especially in world Nebraska, you think you're the only one that has this issue.
Well, then when you start talking to someone from rural Washington State or rural California or rural Michigan or rural Minnesota, you realize that we're very similar.
And it gives them some camaraderie and some sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves, and it's a really cool opportunity.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media, and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
Water Requirements for Beef Cattle
Water plays a critical role in cattle health and performance, but it’s often overlooked in beef production. Nebraska Extension Livestock Educator Troy Walz says water needs vary based on temperature, animal weight, class of livestock, and stage of production, making both water quantity and quality essential.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac. One of the most critical needs for beef cattle is adequate access to water. During this time of year when ranchers are beginning to turn out cattle on the past year, that access is even more critical. Nebraska extension livestock educator, Troy Walz, talks about the importance of water for cattle on today's almanac.
[Troy Walz, Nebraska Extension Livestock Educator]
You never really understand the importance till you don't have it.
And then, 0 my gosh, you have to struggle to get those cattle water.
And we always want to think about water quantity as one thing, but we also have to think about that water quality.
Because if the water isn't any good, the cattle aren't going to drink it.
So we have to keep that in mind as well.
And when we think about that quantity, Aaron.
Other thing, I'd like to remind people is, you know, if you have 200 head of cattle and you just have a small tank, they're going to drink it all out very quickly.
So you need to be thinking about how quickly you're going to get that tank full or how big your tank is so you can handle the capacity that is needed to water your cattle.
So as we think about what a cow needs, those general guidelines is that a lactating cow is going to need 2 gallons of water for £100 of body weight per day for her.
So as we think about that, so that, again, that lactating count eats 2 gallons of water per £100.
And if we think about a dry cow or a bowl, they need one to one. 5 gallons of water per £100 of body weight per day.
And we base this on the nutrient requires of beef cattle that came out in 2016.
So in the other consideration, we always need to think about is that environmental temperature.
The cattle are just like we are when it's hot or out, we need more water.
So we always have to keep that in mind as well.
But yes, when we're out grazing lush grass, we know that that grass is probably only 10% dry matter, so it's probably upwards of 90% moisture, so they're getting a lot of moisture or water when they're grazing that lush forage, whatever that is out there.
And that compares to a time in the winter when we're feeding those cattle dry hay, that's only 10% moisture.
So it will affect the amount of water that they need.
But but always have it in your mind that.
Those numbers that I told you that a cow or dry, whether she's lactating or dry is going to need, always try to have that much water available for them because you just never quite know for sure.
The other thing to think about is silage.
We know that silage is, 50 to 60% moisture as well.
So for feeding lots of silage.
They're getting some moisture with that too.
And also, I guess, as I talked about needs.
We never want to forget that baby calf out there.
Calves do get some water from milk, but they also drink water and we want calves to gain, so we want them to be able to reach the tank, so we need to make sure that we have our tanks banked or grade it, so the calves can reach the water as well.
And I guess that goes too, that we want them to be drinking fresh water because we want those calves to gain well.
And if there, there's been some studies, research out there that shows that calves are, that are drinking from pawns, don't gain as well as calves that are drinking from fresh water.
As we think about our windmills too.
We going to have some days of doldrums in the summer where that wind isn't going to blow.
So we need to make sure we have some type of backup, whether it's for a windmill with a pump jack or maybe we have a solar well somewhere that we can have cat or water for our cattle.
And 2 to your point where the cows drink it down 1st and if the calf doesn't get a drink and the mom already had her fill, she's ready to go out and graze again, so the calf is just going to follow along.
And so we know that calf is not going to be able to.
He's going to go with his mom and not get that drink for that day until she comes back in.
And it could be the same scenario again.
So yes, we want that recharge or that capacity for that wad of water so those calves can have a drink.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion taken from a recent Beefwatch podcast offered by Nebraska Extension to hear the entire interview. Go to beef.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts. For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills. Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension. For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.