Give Consumers What they Want
U.S. court says ban on testing for mad cow disease is off, a good ruling for consumers and a good reminder for rural entrepreneurs
The federal court ruling that has overturned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ban on testing for mad cow disease is welcome relief from a bad idea. The ban was based not only on bad law, but bad economics.
In a bizarre twist of the law, USDA argued its authority to protect human health empowered it to prevent Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from testing cattle for mad cow. Creekstone was testing to gain access to foreign markets that closed after mad cow was found in the U.S.
It appears the ban was aimed less at protecting public health than at protecting big meatpackers. Big packers did not want to compete with an upstart firm that was more responsive to their consumers.
Therein is the issue. The future for family farms and rural small business is in giving consumers what they want. Commodity production is increasingly a high-volume, low-margin enterprise. We need common sense policy reforms – farm program payment limitations and competition legislation – that retain a place for some family farms in commodity production.
But we must also seek out 21st century opportunities to earn greater returns in rural America by offering unique and special products for which people will pay a premium. Across rural America, new entrepreneurs are looking for and responding to those opportunities.
If the Japanese want cattle tested for mad cow, let’s give them cattle tested for mad cow – for a premium. If U.S. or foreign consumers are leery of livestock in large total confinement, offer them a family farm alternative – for a premium.
If the Europeans don’t want GMO foods, offer them GMO-free foods – for a premium. Midsize farmers have an advantage in producing soybeans that are not Roundup Ready® because they can provide the intensive weed management required. Mega farms cannot.
The opportunities go beyond food production. Well-to-do Americans seem to be looking most of all for unique experiences. New ecotourism enterprises like Calamus Outfitters out in Burwell, Nebraska, are emerging to provide those experiences.
Calamus is a new enterprise of the 4th generation Switzer Ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, which continues to raise cattle. But it also provides cattle drives, brandings, and calving season experiences for its guests, as well as opportunities to view grouse, prairie chickens, and other wildlife.
Elsewhere rural communities are looking to historic preservation to offer unique experiences to draw customers from outside, such as St. James Market near Wynot, Nebraska. It features locally produced crafts and foods and, most important, a unique experience.
USDA should not block rural small businesses from tapping new opportunities in giving consumers what they want. Rather, it should be helping rural people grasp the opportunity to create a new generation of owner-operated farms and businesses.
Agree or disagree? Send your comments, questions, and opinions to Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org or call him at our Lyons office at 402.687.2103 x 1018.
The federal court ruling that has overturned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ban on testing for mad cow disease is welcome relief from a bad idea. The ban was based not only on bad law, but bad economics.
In a bizarre twist of the law, USDA argued its authority to protect human health empowered it to prevent Kansas meatpacker Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from testing cattle for mad cow. Creekstone was testing to gain access to foreign markets that closed after mad cow was found in the U.S.
It appears the ban was aimed less at protecting public health than at protecting big meatpackers. Big packers did not want to compete with an upstart firm that was more responsive to their consumers.
Therein is the issue. The future for family farms and rural small business is in giving consumers what they want. Commodity production is increasingly a high-volume, low-margin enterprise. We need common sense policy reforms – farm program payment limitations and competition legislation – that retain a place for some family farms in commodity production.
But we must also seek out 21st century opportunities to earn greater returns in rural America by offering unique and special products for which people will pay a premium. Across rural America, new entrepreneurs are looking for and responding to those opportunities.
If the Japanese want cattle tested for mad cow, let’s give them cattle tested for mad cow – for a premium. If U.S. or foreign consumers are leery of livestock in large total confinement, offer them a family farm alternative – for a premium.
If the Europeans don’t want GMO foods, offer them GMO-free foods – for a premium. Midsize farmers have an advantage in producing soybeans that are not Roundup Ready® because they can provide the intensive weed management required. Mega farms cannot.
The opportunities go beyond food production. Well-to-do Americans seem to be looking most of all for unique experiences. New ecotourism enterprises like Calamus Outfitters out in Burwell, Nebraska, are emerging to provide those experiences.
Calamus is a new enterprise of the 4th generation Switzer Ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, which continues to raise cattle. But it also provides cattle drives, brandings, and calving season experiences for its guests, as well as opportunities to view grouse, prairie chickens, and other wildlife.
Elsewhere rural communities are looking to historic preservation to offer unique experiences to draw customers from outside, such as St. James Market near Wynot, Nebraska. It features locally produced crafts and foods and, most important, a unique experience.
USDA should not block rural small businesses from tapping new opportunities in giving consumers what they want. Rather, it should be helping rural people grasp the opportunity to create a new generation of owner-operated farms and businesses.
Agree or disagree? Send your comments, questions, and opinions to Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org or call him at our Lyons office at 402.687.2103 x 1018.
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