Beef bounces back from tough times

Like a tough old cowboy, the American beef industry keeps getting up after being knocked down. "It's incredible really," says Cal Siegfried of McCook, the general manager of Heartland Feeders "Despite having our borders closed, the U.S. beef industry has bounced back, almost to where we were before the BSE scare."

Does BSE sound familiar to you? It should. The initials stand for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, referred to by some in the press as mad cow disease. The U.S. beef industry's problems with BSE emerged on Dec. 23, 2003, when a cow imported from Canada turned up in Washington State with the disease.

Immediately, beef prices -- which had been at near record levels -- plummeted, and nations around the world closed their borders to U.S. beef.

"What a Christmas present that was," Siegfried said, referring to the sharp depression that befell beef producers following the report of one isolated, imported case of BSE.

But while the world shut off the U.S. beef supply, the American consumer remained ever faithful. In fact, Siegfried says, beef consumption in the U.S. is near an all-time high, helping the beef industry reach the $90 per 100-pound level earlier this month. "We've moved off that a little in the last week or so, but that's mainly a seasonal thing," he said.

So what is the secret of beef's increasing popularity among U.S. consumers? A number of things, all of which contribute to the nutrition of beef and the ease of preparation. Among the favorable factors are the Atkins Diet, which encourages protein consumption; microwavable dishes, such as sirloin tips and pot roasts; branded beef products, including Omaha Steaks and Premium Black Angus; popular steak restaurants, such as Outback and Whiskey Creek; and the Beef Checkoff, which has pumped money into research and promotion of beef products.

Still, for Siegfriend and his partner, Patsy Houghton, general manager of Heartland Cattle Co., and others in the beef industry, the outlook is not all rosy. The main culprit in this area is the drought, which is straining pastures and forcing cattlemen to cut back on numbers to conserve feed. Also, it would be a great help if Japan, Mexico and other nations would ease their import restrictions on beef.

Even so, the resilient U.S. beef industry is bouncing back, just as it has so many times before. During Beef Month, we thank beef producers for their contributions to the area economy, and congratulate them for their continuing accomplishments. Like a tough old cowboy, beef producers get knocked down, but you can't count them out because they keep coming back for more.