JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – A recent trade deal between the European Union and Australia for red meat is unlikely to significantly affect Northeast Arkansas cattle ranchers, according to an Arkansas State University agriculture professor.<\/p>\n
Dr. Hunter Burnett, an assistant professor of agriculture at Arkansas State University, said the deal<\/a> involves about 30,000 metric tons of red meat split between beef and sheep production. Burnett and his family have raised cattle and livestock since the 1970s.<\/p>\n He and his wife now raise their own cattle.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking at the numbers, it\u2019s about 30,000 metric tons of red meat. The deal is, that is split between beef production and then also sheep production,\u201d Burnett said.<\/p>\n Burnett said the United States and United Kingdom also struck<\/a> a reciprocal deal for 13,000 metric tons of beef for each side. He said considering the amount of red meat produced locally and internationally, the numbers in these deals are fairly small.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to trade some of these goods back and forth between our country and their countries because they have products we need and vice versa, back to what we need in the United States,\u201d Burnett said.<\/p>\n Burnett said the deals might cause small changes to some markets but not much. He said factors like fuel prices<\/a>, drought<\/a>, and environmental conditions will have a bigger impact on producers and consumers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could see a small minute change in market prices. It\u2019s not going to affect us, the sell barn. I really don\u2019t see that it\u2019s going to affect the consumer per se. Where we\u2019re going to see the big changes is what\u2019s going to happen with fuel, with the drought, environmental conditions. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to ultimately impact the producer\u2019s bottom dollar and their pocket book, or the consumer that has to buy it at the local grocery store,\u201d Burnett said.<\/p>\n Burnett urged people to continue supporting local agriculture.<\/p>\n