In today’s beef buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Ben Weinheimer, president and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association at the 2025 TCFA meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. Weinheimer spoke about the ongoing challenge of keeping feedlot pens full across the southern plains. He explained that the latest Cattle on Feed reports show the region “taking a pretty hard hit when it comes to overall on feed numbers, year over year, and placement numbers.” He added that while future reports may be delayed, “really, probably don’t expect a lot different than what we saw from the August and September reports, where the southern region is suffering in terms of occupancy and on feed numbers.”
Weinheimer connected this decline to the closure of the U.S.–Mexico cattle trade due to the screwworm outbreak, which has prevented Mexican cattle from crossing the border. “It’s a tough leadership position to be in,” he admitted, but emphasized that TCFA’s leadership “has continued to stay the course.” The association’s top priorities remain “continuing to prioritize the fight against the screwworm where it is today in Mexico,” as well as establishing “a dispersal facility in South Texas and then soon followed by a sterile fly production facility in South Texas.”
While the industry faces immediate supply shortages, Weinheimer said TCFA remains confident in past biosecurity measures. “We’re confident that the inspection and treatment protocols that were implemented on those cattle during the course of time that the border was open are very effective,” he said, noting that the risk of transmitting the screwworm into the U.S. remains “very, very low.” However, he acknowledged the growing frustration among feedlot operators, saying, “Patience is starting to wane here a little bit as far as our occupancy numbers.”
Despite the short-term strain, Weinheimer urged optimism and a long-term perspective. “We want to make sure that we have a bit more patience to see that Mexico continues to do what they need to do,” he said. He expressed hope that “eventually we’ll turn it back into an opportunity,” and that the industry will one day “look back and view this as something in the past and a challenge that we were able to overcome.”
When asked about USDA’s next steps toward reopening the border, Weinheimer explained that both governments are following a detailed plan. “We’ve seen several references to the work that USDA and Mexico did to develop a fairly comprehensive agreement,” he said. “That tells us that there is a roadmap here, and they’re working through that roadmap.” He predicted that once progress is made, reopening would likely begin “somewhat of a west to east reopening, starting with Sonora and Chihuahua, and then working our way back down the Texas border.”
Weinheimer closed on a cautiously optimistic note, pointing out that the latest detections of the screwworm have been “deeper and deeper further south into Mexico.” He said this gives “confidence in their plans, protocols, and procedures,” and reassures U.S. officials that “they’re delivering on their commitments to mitigate the spread and really elevate their control efforts of the screwworm in Mexico.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
