Despite all of the issues going on with the beef industry, 2015 has proven to be a very successful year for the industry as a whole. Burt Rutherford of Beef Magazine writes, “We will remember 2015 as the second-best year ever for cow-calf profitability, with 2014 notching the record,” and asks, “What’s ahead for 2016?” To stay atop any industry, you have to pay close attention to trends. That is really the only way to make waves. Knowing the industry you are in inside and out is necessary for survival and success. There is no better way to celebrate the New Year than to study upcoming trends that will change the beef industry. Consider it a New Year’s resolution.
According to Rutherford, there are 10 megatrends to watch. They are cow herd growth, expansion challenges, cattle price adjustment, increasing economic volatility, focus on options to antibiotics, focus on government and regulation, philosophical divide among cattlemen, continued push for value-based calf marketing, continued reliance on global markets and retailer/consumer demands.
All of these trends are important, but at Flying H Genetics, we would like to focus on only a couple of them: focus on government and regulation, and continued reliance on global markets. Focusing on government and regulation is extra important primarily because of all the election talk currently dominating the airwaves and that 2016 will jumpstart the election cycle. Given the heated political climate in the country, the poisonous bantering back and forth, it is clear that these talks will have a giant impact on our lives going forward, in and out of the beef industry.
We live in globalized times. There is no way of operating a business efficiently if you ignore this fact. That said, it is extra important in 2016 to pay attention to international markets. 2015 has not been a smooth year in terms of global relations so beef industry professionals need to all they can to, as Rutherford puts it, “restore, maintain and grow international markets.”
The beef industry is poised to have a very profitable and exciting 2016. This puts a smile on our faces. We wish you and your family a happy New Year!
