# ‘We have 94 million cows. Why do we import beef?’ (And answers to other burning questions about trade) - Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

> An industry explainer says the US imports lean beef trimmings from Australia and New Zealand to blend with domestic fat trim for 80/20 ground beef. It argues imports support American ranchers because trade is two-way and partners must meet USDA food-safety standards.

- Date: 2020-07-06 · published 2020-07-06T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: trade · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/52054-we-have-94-million-cows-why-do-we-import-beef-and-answers-to-other-burning
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Lean trim imports balance grinding-beef supply, so they affect trim prices and cow slaughter economics, though the piece describes no new change in flows.

## Read by commodity

- LCATTLE: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2022-10-03 | [Cow-calf Corner: The importance of beef trade to the cattle industry  - Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39082-cow-calf-corner-the-importance-of-beef-trade-to-the-cattle-industry-texas-and.md) | +0.7% | +4.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-01-11 | [Cow-Calf Corner: Beef trade bounces back; Difficult delivery and rebreeding difficulties - Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55037-cow-calf-corner-beef-trade-bounces-back-difficult-delivery-and-rebreeding.md) | -0.3% | -3.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-09-14 | [Cow-Calf Corner: Beef trade shock waves continue; Prolonged labor affects post-calving re-breeding - Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association](https://feedsoft.ai/events/51069-cow-calf-corner-beef-trade-shock-waves-continue-prolonged-labor-affects-post.md) | -0.1% | +4.0% |
| LCATTLE | 2017-11-06 | [Comment: What price will Chinese importers be willing to pay for live cattle? \| Queensland Country Life \| QLD](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67926-comment-what-price-will-chinese-importers-be-willing-to-pay-for-live-cattle.md) | +0.0% | -2.9% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-09-01 | [Economists don’t expect reopening the US to Mexican cattle imports to reduce high beef prices \| News \| palestineherald.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17424-economists-don-t-expect-reopening-the-us-to-mexican-cattle-imports-to-reduce.md) | -1.8% | -0.4% |

## Sources

- tscra.org: https://tscra.org/we-have-94-million-cows-why-do-we-import-beef-and-answers-to-other-burning-questions-about-trade/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.