Blake Meyer

“Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”

[Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker⚔️ @Nomads4Pritzker]

So, I've worked in the beef industry. I have a fairly detailed knowledge of beef markets, the supply chain, parasites and parasiticides, etc. Suffice it to say, this is a nightmare scenario, but one we've known was coming since at least 2022.

New World Screwworm was eradicated from North and Central America in the mid-90's. The US gov't (APHIS) funded a program of screwworm drops, where they bred sterile males so that extant populations couldn't reproduce and move northwards. But in 2022 NWS jumped the Darien gap and started moving northwards once again. It's most likely that they came undetected on livestock brought alongside migrants fleeing political instability in South and Central America. Elon Musk/DOGE, of course, cut several monitoring programs that would have detected this exact scenario. The screwworm drops are still funded, but the monitoring programs are what have been cut - a stupid move if there ever was one.

A serious Central/South America policy would have worked hand-in-hand with CA/SA governments to help contain this, but we've never had a serious policy towards South America, not during the Biden years, and especially not under Trump. The USDA broke ground on a sterile screwworm facility in Texas... last month. I worry it's too little, too late.

Screwworm is so dangerous because, unlike other fly larvae, they lay eggs and feed on living flesh. So something like a small scratch (or even bug bite) can quickly becomes infested, and the larvae will burrow into the flesh, growing the wound and attracting more screwworm. They don't only parasitize cattle, but will also feed on wildlife, domestic pets, even humans. Since they have detected screwworms in domesticated cattle right now, it's likely that there is a wild reservoir as well. We can quarantine herds and pets, but we can't quarantine deer and armadillos. They will move, and so will the NWS.

Under normal circumstances, cattle are moved around - a lot. Calves will be sent to stockers through their adolescence, then shipped to feedlots for finishing. A lot of calving operations (like 70%) are small, and small-time producers don't always catch parasite infestations. Cattle moved in-state don't require a certificate of veterinary inspection, so it's easy for an infested animal to be moved without being noticed. Animals crossing state lines do need a CVI, but Texas has such an enormous cattle population (something like 13 million head) that as goes Texas, so goes the nation.

Fortunately, we have a lot of drugs that treat NWS. The FDA has issued several emergency use authorizations in the last year or so. But every input raises the price of beef, and treatment only makes a difference if producers catch an infestation early. If an infestation spreads unnoticed on a large feedlot, it can hit hard, both in terms of cattle that have to be killed, and treatments that then have to be deployed. Producers will spend days at a time running cattle through the chute, inspecting them and applying parasiticides. It costs a lot of money, which is then passed on to the consumer.

What does that mean for you? Beef is a commodity, and just because there's no NWS up here in Illinois doesn't mean that prices won't skyrocket - and they will skyrocket. US herd size is already at record lows, and this will result in culls. Consumer prices also run 18-24 months behind, which means that shocks to the supply chain now are still going to be felt by consumers in 2028.

It's hard to say if our government will be able to muster an effective response - though I don't trust our current administration, which can't even throw a 250th anniversary party, to be able to deal with an ecological issue of this magnitude. It doesn't help that our current USDA secretary is a lawyer and think-tank creature. I don't much trust the state government of Texas either. The industry has also taken the workforce of large animal veterinarians for granted - a monopoly/market power issue that I just can't get in to here.

For me, it comes back to our federal government having an incoherent policy on Central and South America. We knew what was coming, we know what's going to happen, but we cut the program meant to prevent this scenario. Instead of taking those countries seriously as partners, the government has been stupid and domineering.

Here's the kicker: this is what the industry voted for. They might scream, they might get bailed out, but all that means is that you, the consumer, are going to be paying more for beef, plus whatever bailout gets shoveled their way. Until the industry accepts that they are part of a larger system; that they cannot eternally privatize the gains and publicize the losses of beef production; that they need to consider sustainability and stewardship in the management of their operations, this is only going to keep happening. Eventually, they may find that there is very little goodwill for them among the public, and people will decide that a Brazilian ribeye tastes just as good as one from Texas.

[Bjorn @steakeggsmilk]

“Holy SHIT man, you gotta see this!”

[Libs of TikTok @libsoftiktok]

EXCLUSIVE

University of Nebraska at Kearney (@UNKearney) wants faculty to attend a meeting where they'll be taught about Empowering Trans Students and creating a DEI-inclusive classroom.

This university receives our tax dollars

DEFUND @doge @usedgov

So sick of this trash

[HowlingMutant @Howlingmutant0]

Not gonna lie my Tourette’s would have acted up

[Big Tucson Dad @BigTucsonDad]

I’m a staunch believer that our national animal should have been the American Bison

Eagle’s cool, but tons of places use eagles. These bad ass tank cows truly belong to us and are sick as hell

[just a @F466OT]

Do not, under any circumstances, belittle the magnificent Hoover Dam on this account ever again.

“They died to make the desert bloom”

[R-CALF USA @RCALFUSA]

Packers and retailers have become so concentrated they now control the market.

A generation ago, ranchers earned over 60% of the consumer beef dollar. Today, they get under 40%.

Trying to lower prices by inviting even more imports only speeds up the dismantling of America’s beef industry.

We don’t need more foreign beef. We need fair markets and country of origin labels.

[Lonesome Lands @LonesomeLands]

The New World Screw is now, “less than 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.”

https://t.co/iuJNNVYwzj

[Ryan James Girdusky @RyanGirdusky]

The 2024 map if only white people voted... and you wonder why hating white people is at the heart of the progressive movement

[∿ @somewheresy]

If you are a young person, you need to basically never forgive baby boomers for what they did.

[Hail Varsity @HailVarsity]

Quite the weekend for Nebraskans.

Nebraska volleyball 8-0 ✔️
Nebraska football 3-0 ✔️
Terence Crawford 42-0 ✔️

[Venom Rach ☧ @SocialNomadRach]

>Catholic kids killed
>government disbursed fund for security to 600 organisations
>500 of them are jewish

[Swift Trading Company @shootinthebull2]

Cattle on Feed
98 On Feed (99.1 Guess)
92 Placed (98 Guess)
96 Marketed (96.2 Guess)

[Grant Wiese @gwiesefarms]

🚨 Unpopular opinion 🚨

Government payments are bad for young farmers.

They receive $5-10k while big producers receive $150k.

It prices them out of land deals, creates inflation on inputs, and keeps bad producers in business decreasing affordable land available to buy.

[The Rabbit Hole @TheRabbitHole]

Big increase in administrative staff at American public schools

[Rock @TheCensoredRock]

I laughed way too hard at this 😂😂

[Blake Meyer @fluffygatar]

@NickHorob Great system. Can i get a copy please

[Jenni @hashjenni]

potato’s the best thing to happen to this world

[Blake Meyer @fluffygatar]

@tmonteIH Interested