Kansas, Missouri cattle ranchers frustrated with Trump's beef import plan
Cattle ranchers in Kansas and Missouri are coming together to speak out against President Donald Trump's proposed plan to lower the prices of beef at the grocery store.
In a social media post last week, Trump announced that the United States would allow 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported without out-of-quota tariffs. Trump added the beef will be sold at 25% below current market prices.
Local Farm Bureaus, Cattlemen's Associations and lawmakers all almost immediately came out against the plan, saying it would have negative effects on American cattle ranchers.
"I have yet to see a single post for somebody who raises cattle and is happy about what [Trump] did or what he says he's going to do," said Jason Hawkins.
Hawkins is the vice president of the Kansas Cattlemen's Association. He owns more than 120 acres in Garnett, Kansas, where he manages a herd of roughly 30 cattle.
"We've got eight steers that will be sold hopefully soon," Hawkins said. "Kind of depending on what happens with the recent news. And then we've got 19 breeding cows and five heifers that we'll get bred this coming year. And then we have two that are going to be for butcher beef."
Hawkins and his wife bought the land and cattle in 2018. The hope was to make this a full-time job, but industry challenges have prevented this. He works a day job and tends the cattle in the evening.
"We're kind of newer and not a huge range like some of the others, but it's kind of a passion for us," he said.
Hawkins called Trump's plan to suspend certain tariffs on imported beef pretty frustrating.
"For us producers, it's an immediate impact and cost," Hawkins said. "So, it is going to affect our bottom line, while I don't think it's going to help the consumer."
Without tariffs on imported beef, Hawkins said it puts American beef producers at a disadvantage.
"The tariffs, essentially, kind of make it a more level playing field," Hawkins said. "What you run into with imported meats is they don't have the same safety protocols. They don't have the same labor rules and things that we have."
Hawkins acknowledges the prices of ground beef are high right now. He said that's in large part due to supply and demand. The American cattle herd is at a historic low point, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"It's profitability," he said. "Over the years, this has not been a terribly profitable business. We have the high cost of feed, the cost of land, all the input costs. And then when you go to sell your animals, up until recently, there haven't been great margins. So, you really got to be careful to even just not be negative for the year."
Hawkins said these factors have led more ranchers to get out of the business over the last few decades, meaning there are fewer cattle in the U.S.
That drives up beef prices.
"A lot of people have sold because they can't maintain the herd," he said. "They don't have the feed for it. And so, you know, those combined, we have low numbers and basic supply and demand. When the numbers are low, the costs are high."
The price of land is also a limiting factor. Hawkins said ranchers have seen the price of land double since the COVID-19 pandemic, greatly limiting a rancher's ability to grow their herd.
Trump said on social media his plan should give "space" for the American beef herd to grow again.
Hawkins thinks the plan will have the opposite effect. He said deciding to grow your herd involves not selling cows. It's an investment in the future that loses you thousands of dollars in the present.
Hawkins believes this plan will cause market uncertainty and not lead to ranchers like himself wanting to invest.
"If I see the market is not going to be high in the future, I'm not wanting to invest that money and know that, hey, I'm going to buy high and sell low," Hawkins said.
Hawkins said his biggest concern is beef imports leading to an illness outbreak similar to Cyclospora in the lettuce market.
"It's from a foreign country," Hawkins said. "And so if something happens with that, it could very likely kill the market for all of us, even American ranchers that have nothing to do with it."
"If something happens with the imported beef, people won't just stop buying imported meat. They'll be afraid that, 'Hey, you know, all beef is bad,'" he said. "And, obviously, this is one of the best proteins on the market. That's why our demand has held out, even though we know our prices are high."
Trump has not signed an executive order yet to make the plan law, and Hawkins hopes his elected representatives will convince the president to change his mind.
Several lawmakers on both sides of the state line have already spoken out against the plan.
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