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Brad Lubben discusses current beef industry policy issues, including cattle markets, risk management, trade, traceability and labeling. Find this episode on your favorite platform here.
This Policy Report column was first published by Nebraska Farmer on May 11, 2026, and is excerpted here with permission.
The beef industry has been the shining light of the agricultural economy recently, helping to sustain agricultural income while the crop sector faces increased financial challenges.
The outlook ahead is less clear with questions about supply and herd rebuilding, questions about demand amid trade conflicts and competition, and questions about policy that always impact future directions for the industry.
Students in the Krutsinger Beef Industry Scholars program in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have had the opportunity to study many of the beef industry policy issues this spring.
The KBIS program’s 17th class of scholars traveled to the 2026 Cattle Industry Convention in February to observe and participate in policy discussions, and then came back to campus to analyze and discuss key policy issues as part of their final semester in the program.
The issues the scholars worked on provide a snapshot of the issues the industry is facing at large.
Cattle marketing and risk management
Committee discussions and deliberations about cattle markets at the convention were relatively muted this year compared to past years. Ongoing concerns about cattle market competitiveness and price discovery were less pronounced as producers continued to benefit from strong consumer demand and high prices amid short supplies of fed cattle.
The relevant discussion now seems to be less about market competition and price discovery and more about processing plant capacity or overcapacity, and the potential costs of adjusting to any further reductions such as the Tyson plant closure in Lexington, Neb.
Actually, the higher prices producers enjoy at present can increase both their financial exposure and market risk. Producers have benefited from the growth of federally supported insurance tools over the past 20-plus years.
The Livestock Risk Protection policy for output price risk management and the Pasture, Range, and Forage policy to cover forage losses because of lower-than-expected precipitation have become key parts of the risk management portfolio for producers.
Some of the policy questions raised at the convention and discussed in the class relate to recent additions and proposed changes to the policies. Producers are watching the Weaned Calf Risk Protection program with interest as it brings both production and price risk management to the livestock insurance portfolio in a pilot offering in Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.
At the same time, producers continue to have questions or proposals for existing policies such as LRP. Questions over pricing, applicability for feeder heifers and federal support for livestock insurance premiums in comparison to crop insurance premiums will continue to be discussed going forward.
International trade
Students participated in international trade discussions at the convention and in class that addressed both the opportunities and the uncertainty of trade for the beef industry. Producer groups and beef industry checkoff efforts all help support beef promotion in international markets.
