North Dakota cattle advocate sees promise amid strong markets and policy wins
Steve Hallstrom
Special to The Farmer
In many respects, these are the best of times for Bakken-area cattle ranchers.
Then again it is 2025 so nothing is all that easy.
North Dakota’s beef industry is riding a wave of optimism. There are record-high beef prices, strong demand, and a sudden slate of policy victories that promise to bolster the state’s beef industry.
Still, margins are thin, summer weather is always a white-knuckle event, and a new parasite at the U.S.-Mexico border has ranchers leaning into the news cycle.
The McKenzie County Farmer recently interviewed Julie Ellingson, Executive Director of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, having just returned from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s summer business meeting in San Diego, where industry leaders gathered to discuss the state of the cattle sector.
Her insights paint a picture of an industry at a historic high but attentive to weather volatility and geopolitical uncertainties.
“We are enjoying the highest beef demand domestically and internationally that we’ve had in more than 40 years. We’ve got strong markets in all the livestock classes, and a reducing drought footprint across the nation. And so, there are a lot of things to make cattlemen and women real happy about, along with some political wins that we have seen as recently as last week with the reconciliation bill.”
For the full story, visit www.watfordcitynd.com and subscribe to the McKenzie County Farmer today!