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Historical overview of beef production and beef organizations in the United States

Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Amarillo, TX 79106

^1. Correspondence: phone: 806-353-1989; fax: 806-356-8379; E-mail: ball{at}arn.net.

Abstract

The objective of this article, adapted from the book Building the Beef Industry, is to summarize the 100-yr history of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Because the activities of the Association through the years largely parallel major developments in the beef industry, this is essentially a history of beef production in the United States. Early cattle industry leaders recognized that many problems—and opportunities—could be better addressed by working in concert with other cattle producers. Yet free-spirited cattle producers, known for their individualism and independence, were difficult to organize. Two attempts at national associations failed before the National Live Stock Association, organized in 1898, sustained and after several name changes became the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Some challenging areas that demanded cooperation by producers included roundups on the open range, disease control or eradication, development of export markets, restriction of competing imports, continued access to public lands, restrictions on packer monopoly and collusion, limited government help, resistance to government price controls and beef boycotts by consumers, expanded beef research, and self-help beef promotion. The oldest issue for western cattle producers has been the public domain. The "biggest cattle deal ever" was the government purchase-and-slaughter program in 1934, when 8.3 million cattle were slaughtered, reducing the cattle population by 11%. A "transportation revolution" occurred when the railroads put trail drivers out of business; when trucks put the railroads out of the business of transporting cattle; when local auction markets, made viable by trucks and trailers, put terminal markets out of business; and when packing plants moved from terminal markets to the proximity of new commercial feedyards. Among the great legislative victories for the Association were the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, the Counter-Cyclical Meat Import Act of 1979, and the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985, which authorized the $1/animal check-off and made nearly $80 million a year available for beef programs.