Proclamation designates this month to celebrate beef industry

FRANKFORT, KY. (May 6, 2024) - Kentucky cattle producers and industry representatives joined Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell Monday as he signed a proclamation commemorating the month of May as Kentucky Beef Month.

“With 907,000 head of beef cattle in the Commonwealth, Kentucky remains the state with the largest beef inventory east of the Mississippi River,” Commissioner Shell said. “We retain that title with the hard work of our cattle farmers. I ask that Kentuckians join me in recognizing their effort, diligence, and perseverance as we celebrate May as Kentucky Beef Month.”

The United States is the world's largest producer of beef, primarily high-quality, grain-fed beef. Kentucky boasts the eighth largest in the nation. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Kentucky is home to 31,060 beef cattle producers of the 69,400 total farms in the state.

January 2024 numbers for beef cows are up 1.3 percent from 2023. Last year’s lower numbers were mainly due to a combination of widespread drought in 2022, high production costs, and high cull cow prices. The impacts of combined issues resulted in large decreases in beef cow numbers nationally and on a state level. 2023 saw a rebound from the issues of 2022 showcasing the value of this sector and indicating the state’s cattle industry is still a major contributor to the state’s overall economy.

In 2023, Kentucky produced approximately 705 million pounds of beef valued at $1.23 billion. Beef cattle sales accounted for approximately $1.26 billion in cash receipts to Kentucky producers in 2023 and gross income of $1.28 billion. Cattle cash receipts rank fifth among Kentucky commodities and account for 13 percent of an estimated $8 billion in ag cash receipts for 2023.

The top five Kentucky counties for number of beef cattle are:
• Barren
• Pulaski
• Madison
• Breckinridge
• Warren

“May is national beef month. A whole month to celebrate not just beef, but our hard-working beef producers as well,” said Ryan Miller, Kentucky Beef Council chair. “We want to take this time to help promote and enjoy our product. We also want to say thank you to everyone in our great industry for helping do your part in feeding the world.”

To further protect the beef industry and the work of farmers across the state, Commissioner Shell teamed up with Attorney General Russell Coleman in March to oppose a new Biden administration proposal that targets Kentucky’s meat and poultry processing industry. In a pair of letters, the Kentucky statewide officials condemned both the policy and legality of the proposal.

The letters focused on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed requirements that meat and poultry processors build water treatment plants. According to Shell, complying with the regulation could cost millions of dollars for Kentucky entrepreneurs for initial installation and hundreds of thousands in annual maintenance and testing.

Roughly 120 meat and poultry processors are operating in Kentucky. Shell’s argued the EPA’s rule would disrupt the farm to table supply chain.

Protecting Kentucky’s beef producers is important for Kentucky’s economy. The Biden administration’s regulation could erase millions of dollars invested in Kentucky agriculture. With a focus on rural economic development, conservative estimates show Kentucky has invested in agricultural development and financing to the tune of $696 million.