May 28th is National Hamburger Day in the U.S. While many of us will be celebrating this fun national holiday over the long Memorial Day weekend with burgers on the grill, it’s also the perfect time to recognize one of the nation’s leading farm commodities: cattle and calves. A recent trade deal between the U.S. and China will allow China to import U.S. beef for the first time in almost fifteen years, giving U.S. beef producers access to the world’s second largest beef consuming market.
That’s right, not only are hamburgers (and steaks) a staple of barbeques across the U.S., but the beef industry is also a major driver of the overall agriculture industry.
To help understand the importance of the trade deal between the U.S. and China, take into consideration that the Chinese market contains more than 1.3 billion people—a staggering number when compared to the U.S.’s population of 324 million. Making this deal potentially even more valuable is that, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, China’s consumption of beef has risen 40% in the past five years!
Just as beef producers have a reason to be optimistic, so do the country’s corn growers. It seems that much like the meat and vegetables that will be paired on America's plates this weekend, beef and corn reside at the top of the U.S.’s agricultural commodities with corn being the nation’s second most valuable agricultural commodity.
More than merely paired at the top of the agricultural economic pyramid, the beef industry is a major influencer in the corn business. A large percentage of the total corn crop, including dried distillers grains (DDGs)—a byproduct of the production of ethanol—is used to feed the nation’s cattle, pigs, and chickens. With U.S. ranchers already aggressively expanding their herds before the new trade deal, both ranchers and farmers are poised to capitalize on industry growth.
While the new trade deal with China opens up an important export market for U.S. beef and will help drive demand for corn, they are both commodities and prone to volatility. Whether on the ranch or on the farm, Our tires can help increase productivity and efficiency, reduce fuel costs, and deliver an incredibly low total cost of ownership (TCO). Ranchers love our Galaxy loader and skid steer tires for pushing everything from manure to feed around, while we have corn farmers’ tractors, combines, and grain buggies covered with our excellent line of farm tires.
This May 28th, sit back and enjoy a burger for National Hamburger Day, and know that you’re supporting not just one, but two of the nation’s top ag industries—then contact your local tire dealer to learn how we can help you in the field and on the farm.