USDA to Seek Delay of Dairy Herd Slaughter
The Agriculture Department agreed Friday to ask dairymen to voluntarily delay the slaughter of their herds and to take other steps to minimize the effects of a subsidized herd reduction on the beef industry.
The National Cattlemen’s Assn. announced the agreement, declaring victory in a lawsuit it had filed in U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Tex.
Judge Halbert O. Woodward had given the two sides until June 1 to solve problems stemming from the so-called whole herd buyout being undertaken by the government in an effort to stem the flow of surplus milk.
Under the 18-month, $1.8-billion program, the government is paying farmers to sell 1.5 million cows, heifers and calves for slaughter or export. But about two-thirds of the herd liquidation is taking place during the first of three slaughter periods, creating surplus conditions and depressing beef prices, the cattle industry complained.
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