R-CALF USA has sent a letter to President Trump requesting five stop gap measures to address the economic crisis being faced by cattle producers, in part due to the COVID-19 outbreak. CEO Bill Bullard says three of the measures needed include postponing operating loan deadlines, providing relief for capital gains taxes and streamlining state inspections of beef plants which would ensure consumers can access beef at retail outlets.
He says other steps include stopping the importation of raw beef from Brazil and having the Justice Department conduct an investigation into the volatility of cattle prices.
Bullard says they’re calling for restoration of mandatory country of origin labeling and restrictions of the cattle packers can have as captive supply which injures price discovery.
Bullard says markets for independent cattle producers have crashed since the first of the year while beef demand and exports have been strong and consumers are paying record prices for beef. He says that’s now being compounded by COVID-19.
