Posted on 10/22/2025 10:58:08 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Edited on 10/22/2025 11:30:49 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
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What's funny is seeing President Trump castigate cattlemen as if they are somehow oblivious to tariffs and foreign competition.
As I've pointed out, American consumers aren't exactly starving for lack of meat: poultry and pork prices are where they were a decade ago (unadjusted for inflation, meaning they're actually far CHEAPER.)
So the cattle guys aren’t getting their share of $5 pound ground beef? Who’s getting the money?
Evidently we have a 73 year low in cattle. I assume it’s due to some government regulation . Maybe we should do something about that so prices aren’t so high
I want Trump to address the bio-weapon for making people alergic to red meat talked being talked about.
I like Argentine beef.
Different breed of cattle and generally grass feed. Uniquely different flavor.
Does that mean I’ll stop buying American beef? No! I enjoy both and appreciate having the variety.
Besides, I like what is finally happening in Argentina. A good example for South America in general. Be nice to help them out a little and get some good beef, wine and dulce de leche in return.
Brother and I raised cows for a bit. Cow calf operation. We made money. How can you not?
Has he been wrong yet?
I’m with you.
And they will! Nothing cures high prices like high prices.
But it won't happen overnight. And, when the dust settles, more of the supply will be American.
Grass finished is sublime.
“I assume it’s due to some government regulation.”
You’d be wrong. I posted a comment (#13) to yesterday’s post in which I quoted at length an Oklahoma State ag economics professor who explained that herd production has been weighed down by drought conditions going back a few years.
McDonalds only sources 45% of its beef from the US.
McDonalds only sources 45% of its beef from the US.
Like any business, the cost of production and volume and realized price tell the tale.
Which is it:
Support US beef producers in some way?
Import beef to help reduce beef prices?
Can both be achieved?
If so, how?
The high prices of beef and really all food commodities are due to low supply more than anything else. If you do some web searching for the number of livestock culling that have been mandated by the U.S. and other nations over the last 5 years, you’ll immediately notice that the livestock levels are now at all-time lows. And it’s not limited to beef. The culling were mandated mostly for health and safety reasons - parasites, diseases, etc. - but some were also mandated for climate change policy reasons (thanks Europe) /sc. Seeking supply elsewhere is smart given the circumstances. Waiting for ranchers to increase supply isn’t smart since they will be incentivized to keep that supply low for profitability.
Bailing out Argentina for $40 billion (initially $20 billion) only to see them turn around an immediately drop their soybean prices to make up for Chinese imports from the US was a slap in the face.
(By the way, the Argie peso is in freefall since our dollar injection, meaning our “investment” [more like a gift] is already down almost 10%.)
A guy that has a few cows (less than a dozen) told me that just the processing here in north Mississippi costs over $3.00 / lb. I guess if you are taking them to market, that is different....
“Import beef to help reduce beef prices? Can both be achieved?”
NO.
The immediate to intermediate effect of ALL tariffs is upward price pressure on the American consumer. The question is whether the long-term gain is worth the short-term pain. In this special instance, the President is signaling “no.”
And yet again, I’ll point out that Americans aren’t starving. Adjusting for inflation, pork and poultry are far cheaper than they were a decade ago.
I guess you’d have to bring in enough beef to keep prices stable but not flood the market and wait until domestic ranchers can get their numbers back up from their current all time low.
Wouldn’t be easy
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