In McDonnell’s opinion the most important issue facing U.S. cow-calf producers is how trade liberalization is addressed. He said, under the current agenda, within two years the U.S. will have a free trade agreement with every major beef-producing nation and not a single one with a major beef-consuming nation.
“No industry can survive that level of exposure,” he warned. “R-CALF has often been labeled a ‘protectionist’ group. I'm more concerned about the ‘destructionist’ whose policies have caused this industry to contract and caused the loss of nearly 150,000 farm and ranch families during the past 10 years.”