Troy Marshall, of the Seedstock Digest, had some good points some time back on USDA and their miscalculations.
He said USDA has been relying on science upon which to base strategy and assumptions (re. BSE) and that they were technically correct on their evaluation of the science, BUT they seemed to fail to understand that (and I emphasize) IN THE BATTLE BETWEEN SCIENCE AND POLITICAL PRESSURE, POLITICAL INTERESTS WILL WIN NEARLY EVERY TIME AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM.
Hopefully, in the future USDA will get a better handle on the political dynamics, both domestically and internationally, to the level and skill with which they have handled the scientific side of the issue.
Marshall goes on to say the next time the industry gives up $3-4BILLION in revenues (lost due to shut-down beef exports) we might not have the extremely tight supplies and exploding consumer beef demand that more than offset the costs of failed export markets.
TM can be counted on for exceptional insights into the cattle/beef industry, IMO.
MRJ
He said USDA has been relying on science upon which to base strategy and assumptions (re. BSE) and that they were technically correct on their evaluation of the science, BUT they seemed to fail to understand that (and I emphasize) IN THE BATTLE BETWEEN SCIENCE AND POLITICAL PRESSURE, POLITICAL INTERESTS WILL WIN NEARLY EVERY TIME AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM.
Hopefully, in the future USDA will get a better handle on the political dynamics, both domestically and internationally, to the level and skill with which they have handled the scientific side of the issue.
Marshall goes on to say the next time the industry gives up $3-4BILLION in revenues (lost due to shut-down beef exports) we might not have the extremely tight supplies and exploding consumer beef demand that more than offset the costs of failed export markets.
TM can be counted on for exceptional insights into the cattle/beef industry, IMO.
MRJ