USCA Testimony Highlights Market Volatility, Opportunities For Success

The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) testified Thursday during the Senate hearing, “A Review of the U.S. Livestock and Poultry Sectors: Marketplace Opportunities and Challenges”. Joe Goggins (Billings, Montana), Vice President Vermilion Ranch Co., Public Auction Yards, Billings Livestock Commission Co., Western Livestock Auction and Northern Livestock Video Auction, testified on behalf of USCA.

 

 

Goggins was joined on the hearing panel by Mr. Tracy Brunner, President, National Cattlemen's Beef Association; Mr. Ronald Truex, Chairman, United Egg Producers; Dr. Howard Hill, Past President, National Pork Producers Council; and Mr. John Zimmerman, Producer, National Turkey Federation/Minnesota Turkey Growers Association. The witnesses represented a wide range of voices in the livestock industry and brought unique perspectives from each sector of the supply chain.

 

Goggins’ testimony focused on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the U.S. livestock industry while also noting several contributing factors to both the current market volatility and issues that will aid the industry in the years to come.

 

Goggins specifically referenced ways in which the industry can continue to enhance transparency, achieve market stability and encourage improvements and innovation across industry standards. 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.