Flanked by beef producers from around the country, President Donald Trump signed Executive Orders on Friday and USDA made additional announcements supporting America’s ranchers and protecting our nation’s cattle herd. The orders and announcements include efforts to allow on-farm meat processing, stricter enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, protecting herds from gray wolves, and studying implementation of mandatory Country …
Beef Cattle Industry Reacts to Trump Plan for Imports
Cattle producers were surprised and disappointed Friday to read an announcement from President Donald Trump that he plans to lower beef prices by importing “up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff” for the next three months. Blaming the current high beef prices on the previous administration, President Trump …
World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox
Special message from Dr. Mark Lyons on this St. Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick’s Day is, at its heart, a celebration of faith — and across Ireland, that spirit lives on in its people, its communities and the land they care for. This St. Patrick’s Day, we’re sharing a first look at World Without Cows Ireland: The Pasture Paradox, the next …
U.S. Beef Export Picture Changing
In an interview from the recent 2026 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in Nashville, Dan Halstrom, President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), provided an optimistic outlook on U.S. beef exports despite recent hurdles. Halstrom reports that exports declined by 18-19% in volume last year, largely due to ongoing issues with China. Excluding China, the drop …
Industry Awards at 2026 CattleCon
The Prime Cut Awards ceremony was a new feature this year at the 2026 CattleCon, honoring legacy, leadership and excellence in the industry with a variety of awards. The Greg Henderson Excellence in Agricultural Journalism Award was presented this year to Burt Rutherford, a freelance writer and former senior editor of BEEF magazine who has spent his career helping producers …
CattleFax Outlook from CattleCon
The CattleFax Outlook Seminar is always a popular event at CattleCon and it was packed as usual last week in Nashville. CEO Randy Blach told cattle producers they should be proud of the current state of the beef industry. “This is my 45th year at CattleFax, so I’ve seen some of those ugly, ugly days back in the 80s and …
BQA Awards Presented at CattleCon
Winners of the 2026 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards were announced last week at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville. The BQA Awards annually recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers, marketers, and educators that best demonstrate animal care and handling principles as part of day-to-day activities. And the winners are: 2026 BQA Cow-Calf Award – East Foundation Ranches, Hebbronville, TX 2026 BQA …
2026 NCBA Officer Team Approved at CattleCon
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) board approved the 2026 NCBE officer team at CattleCon in Nashville last week, with Gene Copenhaver of Virginia taking the helm as president. Kim Brackett of Idaho is now president-elect, and Skye Krebs of Oregon is vice president. Kenny Rogers of Colorado was elected chair of the NCBA Policy Division and Scott Anderson of …
RFK Jr. Gets Warm Welcome at CattleCon
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. received a warm welcome from some 9,000 attendees at CattleCon in Nashville on Thursday, in light of his agency’s new dietary guidelines that turned the food pyramid on its head. “We now have a food pyramid, which we flipped upside down, because it made more sense. That puts protein at the …
CattleCon 2026 Breaks Attendance Record
CattleCon 2026 has broken the all-time event attendance record this week, with more than 9,400 cattle producers and industry stakeholders converging in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. “There’s a lot of smiles, a lot of optimism, and everybody’s having a great time, not only with the just current state of the beef industry and how good things look for us, but also …