LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – President Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 4 to \u201csupport American producers\u2019 ability to butcher, process, package and sell their meat to consumers across state lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lubbock Farm Bureau\u2019s Walt Hagood said several factors led up to the order, starting with rising energy and diesel fuel prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had high inflation for some time now. And with energy prices going up, everything is driven by diesel fuel. Diesel fuel, those trucks and trains that deliver supplies all over the world, that affects each of us in our pocketbooks at home. And so that\u2019s why groceries are affected so much, too,\u201d Hagood said.<\/p>\n
Drought and rising costs<\/p>\n
Hagood said drought has also driven up costs for producers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so they\u2019ve enjoyed a couple of years here with high prices as long as they were able to grow the grass, you know, and have hay to feed and stuff like that. But their input cost continually goes up because of the drought,\u201d Hagood said.<\/p>\n
Screw worm and border closure<\/p>\n
Hagood said the screw worm epidemic also played a role after the Mexican border closed, halting cattle transportation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, because the screw worms is ultimately what shut the border down, and when he shut the border down, you know, there was a real threat with the screw worms,\u201d Hagood said.<\/p>\n
Hagood said these combined factors have driven up beef prices and shrunk the nation\u2019s cattle supply. He said he hasn\u2019t seen a herd this small since the 1970s.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, you take a baby, baby calf that\u2019s going to be a replacement heifer, you\u2019re two and a half years away before that\u2019s, that\u2019s, go through that cycle and have another calf. And so it takes a long time to do that. And it\u2019s very expensive because, you know, you\u2019re having to feed that animal for a couple of years before you have an animal to sell,\u201d Hagood said.<\/p>\n
Regulations on selling meat<\/p>\n
Hagood said producers have been selling their own meat for some time, but regulations have limited what they can do when it comes to selling across state lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn any killing facility, there\u2019s an inspector there. But, you know, there\u2019s special rules, and that\u2019s one of them. That meat is not for sale back to me. I can\u2019t go sell it. But if you have a federal inspector and a state inspector, which some of them do, you can sell across state lines with the federal inspector. You can sell inside the state to your local farmer market if it\u2019s been inspected,\u201d Hagood said.<\/p>\n
Hagood said the new executive order won\u2019t change prices overnight, but it could open the door for local producers to grow their business, giving shoppers more options at the meat counter.<\/p>\n
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