There’s a difference between beef raised on grass and what is produced from a petri dish. North Dakota Stockmen’s Association Immediate Past President Jeff Schafer made that point about lab-grown meat while at the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting. “Right now, the consumers are definitely not attracted to it, but there’s a lot of money and sometimes there’s an agenda behind it so it’s always got to be on our radar.” Schafer said there is plenty of optimism at the San Diego meeting. “Some of the video auctions have started and these calf values are strong so there’s a lot of excitement in the industry. For the most part, the grass is green and the calves are worth something so there’s a lot of optimism out there. Heifer retention hasn’t started so we might get another couple of years out of this.”
