competitiveness

     I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that a global reset is taking place in the meat production complexes throughout the world.  It was brought about by the political subsidies related to ethanol and bio-fuels coupled with the increased demand from emerging nations.

     For the United States and therefore for everyone else around the globe, the particular factors which have led us to a low relative value of the dollar is making the stew a little more complex.  The sub-prime mess which halted the steadily advancing rise in US interest rates along with the decision by China to raise its own interest rates in the face of mounting inflation and their decision to at least allow their currency rates to change (though not strictly with the market) have led to a mixed bag of blessings for U.S. exporters of pork and beef.

So we are talking about not adding to the fundamental problems which biological production systems deal out just because of their nature. Some of those problems include seasonality, the complexity of growth mechanisms as a key variance enhancer (compared to non-biological production—like automobile manufacture etc.) and the fixed periods of production which cannot be speeded up with an extra shift (like gestation). I’m contending that the next major movement forward in competitiveness is the producer’s ability to manage (certainly never eliminate!) variation more effectively. There is lots of money on that table.