Argentina feedlot payments stop, ranchers complain

By Maximilian Heath

MAGDALENA, Argentina (Reuters) - Argentine cattle raiser Jose Trivino fears the end of a decade-long boom in feedlots that is changing the face of traditional ranching on the legendary Pampas plains.

As the nation's farmers turn over more land to lucrative soybeans, cattle that once roamed freely over vast expanses are increasingly being reared in feedlots and fattened on grains instead of grass.

The government, keen to keep prices low for steak-loving Argentines, has encouraged feedlot expansion with millions of dollars of subsidies. But producers like Trivino say a recent suspension of state payments risks putting them out of business.

"We're waiting (for the subsidies), but in the meantime our business is going down the drain. If they don't pay me ... by March I'll be out of business," Trivino said, standing beside the rambling corrals at his feedlot in Magdalena, some 60 miles (100 km) south of Buenos Aires.

"The suspension of payments caught us by surprise. We're in debt and feedlots are only profitable if we get compensation," he added.

His Santa Maria feedlot used to house 8,000 animals, but today Trivino is only able to maintain 5,000.

Without the subsidy of the state agency ONCCA, which oversees Argentina's multibillion-dollar agricultural trade, feedlots are losing nearly $40 per animal every day, some industry analysts say.

Argentina is a leading beef exporter and Argentines eat more steak than anyone else in the world -- 161 pounds (73 kilograms) per year, compared with the 95 pounds (43 kg) eaten by the average American.