08/22/2026
Georgia producers understand the concerns surrounding the price of beef at the grocery store. We want American families to continue choosing beef and putting it on their dinner tables. However, we disagree with today’s announcement from Washington. Cattlemen know that increasing imports of discounted foreign beef is not a long-term solution to the challenges facing America’s beef supply. We also believe that this decision will only cause disruptions in the live cattle market at a time when many Georgia producers are getting ready to market their calves.
The cattle business operates in cycles, and the United States is currently working through the consequences of the smallest cattle inventory in decades. Georgia producers have faced years of drought, rising feed and input costs, higher interest rates, increased land values, and significant increases in the cost of nearly everything required to raise cattle. Recent cattle prices were sending an important signal to producers that it may finally make economic sense to retain females, rebuild herds, and invest in additional production. Policies designed to lower prices in the short term should not discourage the very investment needed to increase America’s beef supply over the long term.
“Georgia cattlemen don’t expect government to guarantee us a price, and we aren’t afraid of competition,” said Kelley Owen, Executive Vice President of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association. “What our producers need is confidence that if they invest in more cows, better genetics, improved pastures, equipment, and infrastructure today, there will be a fair market for the cattle they produce tomorrow. The best way to increase America’s beef supply is to give American cattle producers the confidence to grow it.”
The Georgia Cattlemen’s Association believes the better long-term strategy is to address the barriers limiting domestic production such as high input costs like fuel and fertilizer, animal health threats, processing capacity, regulatory burdens, and access to land.
Georgia is home to cattle operations of every size, and cattle production remains an important part of the agricultural economy in communities throughout our state. Decisions affecting beef markets ultimately reach all the way back to those family farms and our rural communities.
American consumers and American cattle producers want the same thing, a strong domestic beef industry capable of providing families with a safe, abundant, high-quality product at a sustainable price. Georgia’s cattle producers are ready to do their part. Give them the opportunity and confidence to grow the American cattle herd here at home.
