Deal to lower beef prices rankles cattle industry
BUFFALO — President Donald J. Trump drew an immediate reaction from the cattle industry and sent feeder cattle futures prices downward last week when he announced that he had completed a “deal” to allow 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the U.S. tariff-free over 90 days.
The president said on social media that the imported beef would be sold at 25% below current market rates, making it cheaper for American consumers.
In his statement, Trump said the short-term increase in imported beef would help lower grocery costs for consumers while the U.S. cattle industry recovers from historic herd declines and producers begin rebuilding the domestic herd.
The announcement drew widespread criticism from beef industry trade groups and upset beef prices, while some Republican lawmakers pushed back on what they perceived to be a political maneuver designed to curry favor with voters ahead of midterm elections.
Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said that while the announcement was short of specifics — including which countries the beef would be imported from — he had broad concerns about the announcement.
Magagna, who described himself as “a supporter of a lot of what President Trump does,” said the announcement sends the wrong message to producers and adds volatility to a market already affected by drought, high input costs and historically low herd numbers.
“The other statement, which was totally ridiculous to me, is that he wants to help rebuild the cattle herd in the United States,” Magagna said. “Well, this is just the opposite of that. I think that probably more than anything else, the thing that would help rebuild the herds is, other than good moisture, of course, but is everything we can do to maintain stability in the marketplace, and this is just the opposite of that. It causes a reaction.
“Perhaps some say it’s an overreaction, but nevertheless, if you see this constant flux of prices up and down, you’re less likely to want to rebuild your herd, or less likely to be able to from a financial perspective,” Magagna said.
The plan to allow 300,000 metric tons — about 661 million pounds — of ground beef to enter the country without tariffs comes as the price of ground beef has increased 12% to 14% over the past year to a record high national average price of roughly $6.89 per pound, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Magagna said the timing of the announcement was particularly poor because it pushed prices down just as ranchers are preparing to sell their calf crops. While many producers already have contracts to sell their calves, those who will sell their cattle at auction this fall may receive lower prices.
“We’ve seen the market decline since he made this announcement, and I’m not saying it’ll stay down,” he said. “But nevertheless, if you’re selling in the next few weeks, you’re impacted negatively by it. And because of the drought, numerous producers that I’ve talked with in Wyoming that normally wouldn’t be marketing until in October or even early November are marketing 30 to 45 days earlier this year because they don’t have the feed to keep the animals growing.”
While Magagna is sympathetic to consumers’ desire for lower prices, he said that it is not clear how the deal will lower prices.
“I know he removed the tariffs, and he made some statements that didn’t make much sense to me, to be honest,” he said. “One was that the beef that’s brought in would be 25% cheaper. I mean, in a free market situation, how do you assure that it’s 25% cheaper? I’m confused by that.”
Magagna said the lack of details is also concerning, because it is unclear where the beef will be imported from and what cuts of beef may be imported.
One major concern is animal health and food-safety risk. Industry groups and producers wanted to know which countries would supply the beef so they could assess the inspection, disease and production standards involved.
“One of our major concerns that I would emphasize is that Brazil’s record on animal health and even food safety is one that makes us very nervous,” Magagna said. “To increase the opportunity for imports from Brazil without some more stringent testing requirements and things like that is a significant concern as well. Apart from the financial part of it.”
Additionally, Magagna said that industry groups are concerned about additional imports of prime cuts that would compete directly with American beef. But without more details, it’s unclear what the deal includes.
“If it’s trim meat, which we need to mix with our product to make the proper consistency of ground beef, it could have no negative impact, or even maybe a little bit of positive impact, but there’s so little detail with it,” he said.
But if the imports are prime cuts, Magagna said there are risks to American producers.
First, it increases the supply of prime cuts available, pushing prices down.
But second, and more likely to have an impact over the long term, is that Americans have grown accustomed to a certain product when they buy beef in the grocery store.
If imported prime cuts are added to the mix, but the consumer can’t be sure what they are getting or where it was raised, consumers might start to turn away from beef.
“One of the reasons why per capita beef consumption in the United States is today the highest it’s been in decades is the quality of our beef,” he said. “If the consumers start getting poorer quality products, that could discourage their buying so much beef and they could turn back to buying chicken or something, which is not what we want.”
In a statement, Sen. John Barrasso likewise said that American consumers deserve to know what they are buying and where the product was raised.
“Americans want U.S. beef on the table — not foreign imports,” Barrasso said. “Wyoming ranchers produce the highest quality beef in the world. Our ranchers don’t ask for special treatment. They simply want a fair marketplace. It needs to be easier — not harder — for Wyoming ranchers to feed America. I will continue to fight for policies that strengthen Wyoming beef producers and invest in the American cattle herd.”
Magagna acknowledged that consumers are paying substantially more for beef, but said
today’s prices also reflect the cost and value of producing high-quality American beef.
“They are high prices in that they’re much higher than what consumers are accustomed to. There’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But if you look at the value of the product they’re getting and compare that with the value of anything else they get, whether it’s in the meat case or in the grocery store or even from other sources. On a value basis, I would maintain it’s not a high price; it’s more of a reflection of the true value of the product.”
This story was published on August 27, 2026.
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