CALF_News_June_July_2019

24 CALF News • June | July 2019 • www.calfnews.net I n analyzing what the beef industry will look like 20 years from now, two noted beef specialists believe huge shifts in land ownership, more urban- ization, more demand for tenderness, convenience and more competition from other proteins will keep the pressure on producers and feeders. Stan Bevers and Rick Machen, long- time Texas A&M specialists and now professors for the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management, were opening speakers at the annual convention of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA). Held in Fort Worth, the convention and Cattle Raisers Trade Show attracted some 4,300 people. TSCRA President Bobby McKnight pointed out that, despite the hundreds of miles of wide- open spaces across Texas,“We are an urban state and more people are moving into our cities. But Texas doesn’t have to lose what has made it great.” He was speaking of the farming, ranching and beef production tradition that keeps Texas No. 1 in cattle num- bers. And it highlighted what McKnight called “a critical time” in the status of rural Texas as more oil and gas, wind and other energy production threatens to infringe on private property, which will impact future cattle production. To further illustrate urban sprawl in Texas, Machen pointed out that there are twice as many state representatives in Houston than there are west of I-35, basically, all of West Texas. TSCRA Draws a Texas Size Crowd By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor The TSCRA logo is always a pleasant sight.  President Bobby McKnight sees a need for better Texas laws to ensure a fairer eminent domain policy that doesn’t favor oil and gas over ranching. King Ranch Institute analyst Stan Bevers believes that in the next 20 years, “we could see the largest turnover in land ownership since the West was settled.” Tasked with projecting what the cattle business will resemble in 2039, Bevers and Machen considered numerous areas that will impact beef production. Bevers noted that with the average age of farm- ers and ranchers at over 58,“we could see the largest turnover in land ownership since the West was settled.” While about 70 percent of the world’s land is best utilized by cattle and other grazing animals, the percentage of those acres in the United States and Texas is declining, he said. “There will be fewer grazable lands in 2039,” agreed Machen.“If we lose that land, where does that cow herd go? Will it shift to the Great Plains or east of the Mississippi River? With a [projected] population of about 9.2 billion in 2039, we will have to do more with less. We will need good soil health.” Analyst Rick Machen: “The percentage of grazable lands is declining across Texas.” Traceability will be an industry standard Consumers have been demanding more traceability of where their food comes from for several years. That trend will only grow. Traceability will be expected. Machen said many buyers of beef will be those who are under the age of 10 now, those known as Generation Alpha. “Right now, the three youngest genera- tions, Millennials, Generation Z and Alphas, have a huge disconnect from the Continued on page 26 