Kansas Cattlemen’s Association has begun planning the 23rd Annual KCA Convention and Trade Show. The event will kick off on Friday, November 12, 2021. The event will take place at the Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center in Junction City, Kansas. KCA is currently scheduling presentations and booking trade show exhibitors. The KCA membership will hold the annual KCA business meeting that Friday afternoon. The meeting consists of policy resolution review and approval. A mail

USDA is announcing it intends to make significant investments to expand processing capacity and increase competition in meat and poultry processing to make agricultural markets more accessible, fair, competitive, and resilient for American farmers and ranchers. Specifically, USDA announced its intent to invest $500 million in American Rescue Plan funds to expand meat and poultry processing capacity so that farmers, ranchers, and consumers have more choices in the marketplace.

Cattle production and competition in the beef industry has been center stage in U.S. Congress. The House Agriculture Committee addressed the topic of the state of the beef industry and beef supply chain issues during a hearing. On the same day, the Senate Judiciary Committee reviewed consolidation of meat packers on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary hearing, called “Beefing up Competition: Examining America’s Food Supply Chain,” followed a hearing last month in front of the

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker reintroduced his Farm System Reform Act, a bill he says would “transform a broken system.” Similar legislation was introduced in the House by Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA). The lawmakers claim the legislation will “create a level playing field” for independent family farms. The Farm System Reform Act, however, targets more than just big meat packers. It would place an immediate moratorium on new and expanding concentrated animal feeding operations (

The latest western drought information is looking more and more bleak as the summer sets in. Further expansion of moderate to exceptional drought (D1 to D4) was introduced in parts of California and the Northwest, as agricultural, wildfire, and water-supply impacts continued to mount. Washington continued to lead the country in several drought-related agricultural categories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including topsoil moisture rated very short to short

President Biden recently signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. The order states that corporate consolidation has been accelerating. In over 75% of U.S. industries, a smaller number of large companies now control more of the business than they did twenty years ago. This is true across healthcare, financial services, agriculture and more. The order focuses on numerous areas of the economy across all sectors. The focus is not only on sector

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Consumers overwhelmingly chose ground beef over plant-based beef alternatives in a multifaceted study now being reported by Kansas State University researchers. Ground beef – offered with 10%, 20% and 30% fat -- was strongly preferred for taste and flavor over plant-based alternatives, and less than one-third of the respondents said they would buy the plant-based alternatives in the store or retail settings, according to K-State meat scientist Travis O’Quinn