(Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct the price of culled dairy cows as $1,800 per head.)
Western United Dairies is launching a voluntary initiative calling on USDA to add lean trim to the ground beef market.
Make America More Ground Beef, or MAMGB, would “allow dairy farmers to monetize surplus dairy-origin cattle, while simultaneously increasing domestic beef supply and helping lower grocery prices for American families,” Western United Dairies President Frank Mendonsa wrote in a letter on the organization’s website.
The effort intends to divert 800,000-1,000,000 dairy-origin cattle this spring, adding 900 million-1.1 billion pounds of lean trim to the ground beef market. MAMGB’s goal is to lower retail ground beef prices by 18-25%, increase beef demand and support packing plants and rural jobs. The initiative seeks to pay out up to $1,800 per head for cull dairy cows, or up to $2,000 per head for dairy heifers over 400 pounds, in addition to market sale prices.
Mendonsa said MAMGB is a “farmer-driven solution to a real oversupply problem, one that turns excess animals into revenue, supports rural jobs, and helps American families afford food.” The proposal is not supported by beef industry groups.
2 Comments