What U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Said About Beef Imports
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins returned to Iowa ahead of the mid-term elections and said that she is monitoring whether President Donald Trump's decision to temporarily allow more imported beef from Brazil and Argentina will have its intended effect of providing a cheaper alternative for consumers.
After meeting with farmers and Republican-elected officials in Prairie City, Iowa, on Tuesday, Rollins said that prices have gone down. She did not specify by how much but said that she would be watching.
“And we have seen some relief. The EO (Executive Order) says that the Secretary of Agriculture will be analyzing and reviewing, and I will tell you that she certainly has,” Rollins said.
Voters' concerns about higher beef prices
The President's actions to potentially lessen beef prices for people come weeks before the mid-term elections. Some consumers could see limited relief, while some cattle ranchers now face a limited increase in competition.
The President encouraged stores to sell the additional 300,000 metric tons, approximately 661 million pounds, of foreign lean beef trimmings at roughly 25% below current market prices over the 90-day period, which lasts beyond the November elections.
The action was not a federal mandate.
The President mentioned voters' views of higher beef prices when he talked with News Channel Nebraska following a campaign stop in Grand Island, Nebraska.
“So, I have been better to ranchers and to farmers than any president in history. But the price for the consumer has gone through the roof. So, on a very short-term basis, I brought some in from a couple of different countries, I guess Argentina, Brazil, just a little bit. It really became unacceptable to the voter,” Trump said.
He continued, “And we do have to get elected because if we're not gonna get elected, your ranchers and your farmers are in big trouble if the Democrats got in.”
Cattle rancher reaction to higher beef imports
American Farmland Owner has followed the dissatisfaction in the cattle industry following Trump's actions last month, potentially alienating a key voting constituency for other Republicans on the ballot.
This is why cattle ranchers said that the President's actions hurt their industry.
Cattle ranchers already had concerns about increased foreign beef competition earlier this year when Trump quadrupled imports from Argentina.
Did Lifting Foreign Beef Tariffs Actually Lower Grocery Prices?
The American Farm Bureau Federation followed beef prices in September. It tracked 41 grocery stores in 22 states following the President's executive order.
Here's what AFBF's research on 80% ground beef showed:
“At 30 of the 41 stores, ground beef costs exactly what it did on Sept. 2. Some stores cut prices for a short time and then went back to their Sept. 2 price. Seven stores ended the period lower, but only three reached the 25% discount the proclamation encouraged. Prices rose at stores in four cities: Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa, up 39% and 38%, respectively; East Lansing, Michigan, up 25%; and Denver, up 11%.”
AFBF concluded that the President's actions did not achieve much in savings for consumers and led to weaker cattle prices, which hurt ranchers.
“The evidence is clear; the proclamation should be rolled back, and ranchers should have the opportunity to respond to free market signals and reduced regulatory burdens to rebuild our nation's cattle supply,” the report said.
RELATED: The agriculture economy, its future, and its opportunities will be key themes of the 2027 Land Investment Expo on January 12th in Des Moines, Iowa. Find out more here.
(American Farmland Owner is a media sponsor of the Land Investment Expo.)
