WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday continued its campaign to cut the cost of beef, with Trump urging cattle ranchers to lower prices while several agencies announced an effort to rebuild the country’s decimated cattle herd.
Earlier this week, Trump said the administration was considering importing Argentine beef as a means of lowering record-high consumer beef prices. The suggestion angered U.S. ranchers. U.S. farmers also recently lost out to Argentina on soybean sales to China.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday that cattle ranchers were benefiting from tariffs he has imposed on imports but must lower prices to encourage American consumers to buy their beef.
“The Cattle Ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they are doing so well, for the first time in decades, is because I put Tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% Tariff on Brazil,” Trump wrote. “They also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!”
Cattle and beef prices have surged after a years-long drought burned up grazing land and hiked feeding costs, forcing ranchers to slash their herds. Ranchers and economists said there were no easy ways to quickly boost cattle supplies.
The departments of Agriculture, Interior, Health and Human Services, and Small Business Administration said in a plan released on Wednesday that they would take steps to boost the U.S. cattle supply, like exploring the expansion of grazing on federal lands and increasing payments in some livestock programs.
The USDA will also begin enforcing compliance with voluntary “Product of USA” claims on January 1, 2026, to ensure domestic ranchers benefit from any price premiums for homegrown beef products.
Eight Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Trump on Tuesday asking for more information on his plan to import Argentine beef.
“(We) urge your administration to ensure that any future decisions are made with full transparency, sound science, and a firm commitment to the U.S. cattle industry,” said the letter, led by Representative Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota.
NO QUICK FIX
Economists said there was no quick way to lower U.S. cattle prices, even if more land was available for grazing, in part because it takes about two years to produce full-grown cattle.
“The economics and the biology of it are really a tough nut to crack,” said David Anderson, agricultural economist at Texas A&M University.
Though Trump called for lower prices, high prices are needed to incentivize ranchers to expand their herds, economists said.
“He needs to take a class in supply and demand,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX. “Cattle prices are high because demand is stronger than the supply. If you want to increase the supply of beef long-term, you don’t do it by lowering prices.”
Trump’s tariffs this summer on imports of goods from Brazil decreased the supply of beef coming into the U.S. from Brazil, prompting meat importers to pay higher prices to other suppliers, traders said.
“That certainly contributed to the higher cost of beef at the retail level,” Suderman said. “It doesn’t mean more profits to people feeding out cattle.”
U.S. feeder cattle futures set a record high last week. On Wednesday, after Trump’s post, futures dropped by their daily maximums.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Katharine Jackson and Leah Douglas in Washington and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Doina Chiacu, Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)
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