I find it hard to believe a feedlot would kill a few steers or even hogs. It would be cheaper to feed them than to lose the whole steer.
I honestly don’t know about that. My understanding is that part of the problem is a available space. A lot of places are on an on-demand model of storage. They store as much as they need, not as much as they can. So stock us bred continuously and moves continuously through the system. Demand drops, there’s a glut of stock, but you only can keep so much because, under normal circumstances move more down the line (to proccessing) than you can keep. Where do you put them? How much will that cost? Etc.
But I’m not a rancher, so I’m only relaying it as I understand it from folks calling into shows. Maybe producers have that problem licked. If I’m in gross error, as I expect I am, I’m sure to hear from knowledgeable FReepers like yourselves about it!
The government is spending like drunken sailors anyway, why not just buy up the surplus and have it delivered to food banks and homeless shelters around the country.