US Cattle Producers Stand to Profit Substantially From Access to China's Beef Market Soon to Open

 

Since 2004, when a case of BSE was discovered in Washington state, no US beef has officially entered China’s market. However, the Trump administration has made it priority to broker a deal to reestablish the beef industry’s relationship with China. This year, they have been successful in doing that and July 16 of this year marks the deadline to get the formalities ironed out. According the North American Meat Institute, access to China’s market, which represents 12 percent of the world’s global export business for beef, could potentially put up to $2.6 billion in the pockets of US cattlemen. Kent Bacus, director of international trade and market access for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says China offers boundless opportunity.

 

“China has seen exponential growth in imports in about the last five years,” Bacus said. “We think there’s a lot of unmet demand in the Chinese market.”

 

Bacus says that like many Asian markets, rounds, chuck rolls, tongues and offal cuts are very popular in China and the opportunity to market these products, generally underutilized here in the US, offers the chance to add significant value to beef carcasses.

 

“We see more competition for those cuts that have been selling very well in Asia,” Bacus said. “We could see just the buying power of China is going to hopefully improve the profit margins on those cuts themselves.”

 

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.