America is a nation of immigrants. People started arriving here centuries ago from all corners of the world. Most came to escape poverty and oppression in their own countries and to seek a better life for themselves and their families. That has continued to be the motivation of immigrants to this day.
Colonists from England and other European countries in the 1600s and 1700s sailed to America to escape religious restrictions or persecution, to practice their religion freely. Many came for political freedom and some came for economic opportunity. For these settlers, the American colonies were a chance for freedom and a new life. Today, many people come to the United States for these same reasons.
The paragraph above comes from a publication called, “Learn About the United States—Quick Civic Lessons for the Naturalization Test,” published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The publication contains 100 questions that immigrants wishing to become naturalized citizens must study to correctly answer a certain number of them.
I studied those questions, and answered them correctly, to become a U.S. citizen some years ago. I grew up on a mixed livestock farm in New Zealand. But I came to the U.S. in 1986 with my American wife and two children. I wasn’t escaping poverty or oppression but came because I believed America was the only place where I could realize my dreams. I’m now in my 31st year of publishing my newsletter, Cattle Buyers Weekly, so I have realized that dream. Thank you, America, and all who live here.
I especially thank those in the cattle/beef industry who guided and supported me in my formative years. I owe them a debt of gratitude I can never repay. I am also reminded that the industry, like all others in the U.S., was founded by immigrants. Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage to the New World in 1493, introduced cattle to the Western Hemisphere. Offspring of these cattle were then taken to Mexico and many later roamed back into Texas and California.
Immigrants, mostly from Europe, became cattlemen and homesteaders all over the country and began to develop what we know today as ranches. Immigrants from Scotland, England, and other places introduced breeds such as Angus and Hereford that became mainstays of the U.S. beef herd. Immigrants in more recent times from Mexico and other Latin American countries were crucial for ranchers and then cattle feeders to have a workforce to run their operations. The same was true in meat packing plants. But for immigrants, the U.S. red meat industry might not have become the global force it is today.
European immigrants were instrumental in developing the meat packing industry. Gustavus Swift came to Chicago in 1875. At first, he was a cattle buyer. Then he conceived the idea of slaughtering the cattle in Chicago and shipping the dressed beef instead of cattle to eastern cities. To do this, he developed the refrigerated railroad car. The name “Swift” endures to this day as a brand. Then there was Oscar Mayer and other Europeans who came here bringing their sausage-making and charcuterie skills. If you examine a list of today’s processed meat brands, you’ll see that most of the names are European.
The beef industry and the red meat industry thus owe their existence and success to immigrants. Yet today they need immigrants as much as ever at all levels, especially from the ranch to the packing plant. Ranches all over the country are finding it hard to find workers. It’s even harder for packing plants. Beef companies have had to recruit workers from dozens of countries, some as far away as Sudan and Ethiopia.
A serious labor shortage means packers are currently constrained in how many cattle they can harvest each week. The industry has scarcely killed more than 120,000 head on a weekday and has killed more than 60,000 head on a Saturday only a few times this year. This hasn’t impacted feedlot marketings yet, but it might do so as market-ready supplies of cattle increase from now into September. There’s a very real possibility that cattle could back up because of lack of labor in plants.
Labor shortages are hurting most agricultural enterprises in the U.S. They’re also afflicting the restaurant industry. The industry had 844,000 unfilled positions in April, a record high, according to the Labor Department. Hamburger chains are introducing more automations and even robots (which flip burgers on the grill) to try and make up for the labor shortage.
Out of all this comes an obvious conclusion: New immigrants are the only people who will solve the labor shortage in key sectors of the U.S. economy. One can only hope that Congress acts immediately and passes comprehensive immigration reform. — Steve Kay
“Immigrants, mostly from Europe, became cattlemen and homesteaders all over the country and began to develop what we know today as ranches.”
