U.S. Beef Demand Remains Strong Despite Export Headwinds

The head of the U.S. Meat Export Federation says global demand for U.S. beef remains strong. Dan Halstrom told Brownfield Ag News that’s a good thing for producers. “Because if you can maximize the cutout, that should put more liquidity in the supply chain,” he says, “to incentivize producers to retain heifers and hopefully grow this herd over time.”

Beef exports did pull back last year.  “But, if you take China out of the beef equation, we’re very close to year-ago numbers,” he says.  “That’s just a sign of how resilient beef demand is globally.”

Halstrom says he’s optimistic about 2026.  “I would be a lot more worried if in 2025 we saw base demand eroding.  Actually, the opposite was happening.  Even though base supplies are limited, we all know they are, base demand isn’t eroding, it’s still growing.”

According to Halstrom any slowdown in beef exports this year would stem from continued tight supplies, not weakening demand.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Plenty of good news about livestock production this week and the demand for beef is certainly a big part of the story. The U.S. beef herd continues to be well managed from the supply side, thus, creating excellent pricing opportunities for farmers/ranchers with beef as part of their operation. Normally, one would be concerned that due to higher prices at both the farm and retail levels that demand might weaken. However, according to the industry expert quoted in this article, that is not the case. Therefore, expect beef producers to continue doing well financially through at least 2026. That also makes them excellent targets for the purchase of a new AGwagon®. It is rugged, yet stylish! It is designed to live on the farm or ranch but can also take the family to town on Saturday night.