The past year has been marked by several trade disputes between the U.S. and key trade partners. According to an online poll, producers consider China the most vital U.S. trade partner.

Total federally inspected beef production was 12.1 billion pounds in the first 24 weeks of 2019, up just 0.7% from the same period last year. That is an average production of 502.4 million pounds per week – an amazing number if you think about it. Given that there is little storage of beef beyond pipeline supplies, it means that roughly 500 million pounds of a wide range of beef products are moving through a vast array of retail grocery, restaurant, food service and export markets every week. It is an enormous and complex set of markets.

May 2019 marked Creek County, Oklahoma’s, 76th annual ag tour. The tour started during the World War II era, in the year 1943. The goal of the Creek County Conservation District back in 1943 was to share what individual farmers were doing on their farms to overcome the effects of the war and depression.

The volatile trade negotiations that have taken place between the U.S. and Mexico over the last few months are leaving the U.S. beef industry on edge and unsure of the future.

The initial forecast for 2020 commercial beef production is expected to set a record of 27.5 billion pounds, surpassing by almost 1% what is expected to be a record level in 2019. Total cattle slaughter is expected to be lower than 2019, as lower cow slaughter more than offsets higher fed cattle slaughter.

Producers face challenges in recruiting and retaining stockpeople. There are two job openings for each applicant, and much of the agricultural workforce is composed of immigrants. Immigration reform is making it difficult to generate a sustainable agricultural workforce, even as the U.S. demand for foreign labor has increased fivefold in the past 13 years.