In 2005 Argentina was the third largest beef exporting country in the world exporting 745,000 metric tons while still meeting domestic demand – which was the second highest in the world at 136 pounds per person. At the time the U.S. exported 472,668 metric tons of beef with a consumption rate of 94 pounds per person. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that in 2012 Argentina exported only 164,000 metric tons of beef, falling to a global position of 11th place. In March 2006 Argentina’s government banned beef exports for 180 days and imposed a 15% export tax on fresh beef in an attempt to lower prices. In reaction to these measures ranchers decided to reduce their herds and convert their pastures to the more profitable production of soybeans. Between 2005 and 2012 soybean acreage in Argentina increased from 37.6 million acres to more than 48 million acres and the remaining cattle in the country began being finished in feedlots instead of being grass-fed. At this point, the land that has been converted to soybean production is too valuable to revert back to pastureland.
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