The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has continued to support cattle producers throughout a difficult year in 2020, said NCBA President Marty Smith.

“Producers got direct money to cattle producers all over the country, and throughout all of that, NCBA was the only organization to submit any kind of economic damage studies,” said Smith, speaking of the group’s work on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). “We commissioned a group of our top livestock economists from our land grant institutions and asked them to develop some numbers for us, to do some damage analysis. They did that, and we hit very close in terms of what we ultimately got. In other words, we know we’re not going to get everybody back to where they’d like to be, but it’s going to keep us in business.”

The Florida cattle rancher said NCBA also worked diligently to keep packing plants open in March and April when shutdowns impacted beef demand and prices. Other priorities include policy and regulatory issues, as well as market transparency. Smith also discussed the group’s reaction to the 2020 election. NCBA participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.