Beef Industry Fires Back After Trump Defends Argentine Imports

Marking the midpoint of a contentious week for the beef industry, President Trump and industry leaders on Wednesday continued their back-and-forth debate via social media posts and public statements.

After the beef industry pushed back on his proposal to purchase Argentine beef over the weekend, the president took to Truth Social on Wednesday just after noon ET to voice his thoughts.

“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,” the post read. “If it weren’t for me, they would be doing just as they’ve done for the past 20 years — Terrible! It would be nice if they would understand that, but they also have to get their prices down, because the consumer is a very big factor in my thinking, also!”

Minutes later, he added another post, “In addition to everything else, tariffs on other countries SAVED our Cattle Ranchers!”

Several industry groups reacted to the set of posts. Here’s what they had to say.

American Farm Bureau Federation

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is the nation’s largest farmer-run organization and serves farmers in all 50 states.

AFBF President Zippy Duvall commented Wednesday “on the future of America’s beef supply.”

“Farm families are no different from other American families. We feel the impact of higher grocery costs, but don’t get to set the prices,” he said.“Meanwhile, farmers are suffering through an economic storm — expenses remain high, and cattle farms have been decimated by years of low prices, drought, and the threat of the New World screwworm. They are just beginning to experience a fragile recovery.

“This is a pivotal moment for America’s cattle farmers as they make decisions whether to restock their pastures. Farmers know America’s families prefer to buy U.S. beef. If expanded imports push farmers deeper into the red, we face the unintended consequence of increasing reliance on other countries for our food and weakening our ability to rebuild a strong American herd.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has represented America’s cattle producers since 1898 and is the largest association of cattle producers in the United States.

NCBA released a statement Wednesday, noting, “In a misguided effort to lower the price of beef in grocery stores, President Trump said he plans to increase the volume of beef being imported from Argentina. Efforts to manipulate markets only risk damaging the livelihoods of American cattlemen and women, while doing little to impact the price consumers are paying at the grocery store.”

NCBA CEO Colin Woodall said, “The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices. It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work.”

NCBA’s statement noted, “The U.S. already faces a deep trade imbalance with Argentina, one that is made worse by the President’s plan. During the past five years, Argentina has shipped beef valued at more than $800 million to the U.S., while purchasing only $7 million of U.S. beef. Furthermore, Argentina is a nation with a long history of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and USDA has not completed the necessary steps to ensure Argentina can guarantee the safety of the products being shipped here, further endangering America’s cattle herd.”

Finally, Woodall said, “If President Trump is truly an ally of America’s cattle producers, we call on him to abandon this effort to manipulate markets and focus instead on the promised New World Screwworm facilities in Texas; making additional investments that protect the domestic cattle herd from foreign animal diseases such as FMD; and addressing regulatory burdens, such as delisting of the gray wolf and addressing the scourge of black vultures.”

In a conversation with Lane Nordlund on the LaneCast Ag Podcast, Woodall said, “It was a pretty bold move for him to come out and take full credit for all the success that we are seeing as an industry right now.” You can find the rest of the conversation here.

Iowa Cattlemen’s Association

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) is an organization of Iowa beef cattle-producing families and associated companies dedicated to the future of Iowa’s beef cattle industry.

In response to the president’s comments Wednesday, the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association issued a statement.

“President Trump’s reaction to the cattle industry’s comments regarding his plan to import additional Argentine beef is disconcerting. This administration needs to know and recognize that words matter. Through President Trump’s continued rhetoric regarding beef prices, he continues to create undue harm to U.S. cattle producers, inhibiting their ability to make smart marketing decisions that directly impact their long-term profitability. These unnecessary market swings influence the daily lives of those working to raise a safe beef product for consumers, a product still in high demand.

“[Wednesday’s] comments from President Trump undermine the hard work of U.S. producers, whom he himself has referenced as the backbone of America. The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association will continue to work with our partners and legislators in Washington, D.C. to push our message forward — that government intervention is not the answer.”

Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Adam Murray is a beef cattle extension specialist at Cornell University, whose focus is to support beef cattle producers of various sizes.

On Thursday, Murray offered his perspective on Trump’s plan to cut record beef prices by importing more meat from Argentina. “Due to the nature of the cattle lifecycle, it would take a minimum of 2 years for Argentina to ramp up beef supply, so it’s not like they can turn the spigot on overnight and flood the U.S. market to overpower U.S. beef production,” Murray said.

“However, from a political/PR standpoint, executive statements like this create the psychology that the administration does not support U.S. cattle producers. Many cattle producers do not understand that beef exports add roughly $450 of value to each head of cattle sold, so there has been a long-standing mistrust of major meat packers like Cargill, Tyson, and JBS with the thought that they collude against U.S. cattle producers.

“Because the cattle industry is horizontally integrated, price signals can be slow to move through the supply chain. The reality is that the 4 segments of the beef supply chain are basically never all profitable at the same time. So right now, cow-calf producers are enjoying record profits while packers are losing money. While I highly doubt that Argentina can export enough beef to significantly affect the U.S. beef pricing, cattle futures markets have plummeted in the days following these statements purely because of human psychology.”

Editor’s note: Some of the previous statements have been edited and/or condensed by Successful Farming for style and clarity.