It is no secret that the cost of groceries in this country is taking its toll on the American bank account, a subject that has been a focus of Donald Trump's since he returned to office. Unfortunately, as we all well know, when prices go up, retailers are more likely to let the market catch up than to bring prices back down once production costs are lowered.
The price of ground beef is something that rose considerably over Joe Biden’s presidency, and its costs continue to soar, with Trump recently suggesting that he will import more beef from Argentina to try to ease the situation.
Before I get into this beef issue, you need to understand that Trump is no stranger to suggesting policies that raise eyebrows, even on the right.
One of the more recent examples of that would be when Trump advocated for more H1-B workers.
Trump has always been an America First president, but suggesting that we need more tech employees from outside the country raised a lot of concerns within the party, including from MAGA loyalists, who thought Trump should do more to promote better education for Americans rather than giving high-paying jobs to foreigners.
The president's solution to the pushback was to suggest a $100,000 fee for employers wishing to use this program, but that still did not temper the concerns regarding American jobs going to foreigners.
When Trump left office, the price of ground beef was just shy of $4.00 per pound, and that immediately skyrocketed when Biden clamped down on big oil, as transportation costs started to climb. In January 2025, the price of ground beef was about $5.55 per pound, and now, nine months into Trump’s term, that price has risen to more than $6.30 per pound. On this front, Trump stated, "One of the things we're thinking about doing is beef from Argentina. We would buy some beef from Argentina. If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down. Our groceries are down, our energy prices are down. I think we're going to have $2 gasoline pretty soon. We're getting close and everything's down. The one thing that's kept up is beef.”
That is stretching the truth, at best. Gasoline is nowhere near $2, as the average price is still over $3.00 per gallon, and it's only down about $.012 since Trump took office. It would appear that we have recovered from the bird flu epidemic, as egg prices are coming back down to reality, currently at about $3.50 per dozen, down from a high of $6.22 in March, when the reality of the avian illness was realized by this country. Other staples, such as milk, are up, however, so we are all still getting gouged at the grocery store. I can tell you from my experience, I am still paying well over two times, closer to three times, what I was paying for groceries compared to when Trump left office in his first term.
Trump’s decision to bring in foreign beef to help lower these costs was not welcomed by domestic cattle farmers, and living in Texas, the local temperature is pretty hot on this front, something into which I will delve deeper in just a second. When the Trump administration was asked about these concerns, White House spokesman Kush Desai responded, "The Trump administration remains committed to addressing the needs and concerns of American cattle producers and safeguarding their interests at home and abroad. That’s why the administration has secured billions in new export opportunities for American agricultural products in our historic trade deals with the UK, Japan, the EU, and others."
The president, unsurprisingly, took it on the chin from Republicans and the beef industry. For example, Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) stated, "If the goal is addressing beef prices at the grocery store, this isn’t the way.” She continued, "The U.S. has safe, reliable beef, and it is the one bright spot in our struggling ag economy. Nebraska’s ranchers cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them when they’re just getting ahead or simply breaking even.”
A group of GOP lawmakers is very concerned about the quality of beef if we start importing, writing, "Any import policy must hold foreign suppliers to those same rigorous standards. Introducing beef from countries with inconsistent safety or inspection records could undermine the confidence that U.S. ranchers have worked decades to earn.”
The statement continued, "We respectfully request additional information on this matter and urge your administration to ensure that any future decisions are made with full transparency, sound science, and a firm commitment to the U.S. cattle industry. America’s producers can compete with anyone in the world. If given an opportunity, they will continue to respond quickly to the market demand for more quality American beef in our grocery stores."
While I don’t like paying higher costs for beef, I am more than happy to if it means keeping American cattle farmers in business, a demographic that, generally speaking, does its work out of a sense of duty to feed the country, and not to make a profit.
People see shows like Yellowstone, and they think cattle farmers are raking in the money, but that is far from reality. The overall profit margin for ranching operations, with all costs factored in, is about -1.5%, so they are losing money annually. They have to look for other avenues to generate profits, such as selling off parcels of land, holding private functions, and even selling branded products, in order to make a living. There are ranches that make money, but they are not the norm for the industry, and most smaller ranches are family-owned, with low labor costs because they work the farm themselves, and they do this out of a sense of duty, not to make money.
If Trump imports beef, he will literally be cutting the legs out from under these ranchers, and that is not something that I can support. And for anyone pushing back against my “thought” the other day that only the strongest can survive, I am not asking Trump to subsidize these farms, but I am asking him to find ways to lower energy costs in a way that will trickle down to this industry and to lower transportation costs, which will, in turn, make beef more affordable. Simply put, you cannot undermine the American farmer and rancher… that is just unacceptable in my eyes. You want to start seeing red states turn blue, this is a sure-fire way to do just that.
