Miami
Ranchers in Republican-leaning states push back on Trump’s beef import plan
Producers interviewed by Fox News Digital said the foreign beef trim proposal triggered volatility and losses in cattle markets. The White House and the Agriculture Department defended the move as a short-term response to a supply shortage while outlining new support measures for ranchers.
Cattle ranchers in states that usually align with Donald Trump are voicing frustration over the administration’s plan to import 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef trim, a move they told Fox News Digital has rattled prices and added pressure to an industry already dealing with a sharply reduced herd.
According to Fox News Digital, ranchers from Indiana, Nebraska and Mississippi said the market became highly volatile after the August announcement. Greg Gunthorp, a farm-to-table cattle producer in northeast Indiana, said ranchers have lost equity and that prices have fallen substantially.
Jaclyn Wilson, a rancher in western Nebraska, told Fox News Digital that uncertainty remains over how much of the announced volume will actually enter the U.S., but said the market swings are already hurting producers selling calves or yearlings. She said that after the announcement she sold some yearling steers for $175 less per head than usual.
The situation is compounded, Fox News Digital reported, by the fact that the U.S. cattle herd has fallen to its lowest level in 75 years. Part of that decline is tied to a prolonged drought that hit parts of the Midwest. The outlet also said higher diesel costs linked to the war in Iran have squeezed margins and forced ranchers to raise prices.
A common message from the ranchers interviewed was that the government should either encourage cattle production or stay out of the market. Mary Jo Perry, a Mississippi rancher, told Fox News Digital that a temporary price break would not solve the cattle shortage and called for steps that would help farmers retain heifers for breeding. She added that the White House proposal has not affected her own grass-fed operation, which serves customers focused on beef quality and production methods.
Wilson also told the outlet that herd rebuilding is necessary, but argued it should happen naturally with less government involvement.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins defended the approach in comments to Fox News Digital at the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas. She said she had spoken with hundreds of ranchers to explain the reasoning behind the beef imports and argued that the decision created an opening for what she described as a strongly pro-rancher policy agenda.
Fox News Digital also reported that on Sept. 4, 2026, Trump signed two executive orders related to cattle ranching. One directs federal agencies to cut regulations, expand grazing and review predator management, including whether certain wolf species that prey on cattle should be removed from endangered species lists. The other focuses on meat processing and market competition, calling for stricter enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act against unfair, deceptive or monopolistic practices and for broader opportunities to sell meat across state lines through cooperative inspection programs.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital that the administration is trying to address a short-term beef supply crunch while also working with ranchers to expand the national cattle herd, which she said is at a multi-decade low.
Gunthorp added that the issue should have been addressed decades ago, but warned that fixing it now will still bring pain for either consumers, ranchers or both.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
