America Has the Beef Problem Now

Beef prices in the US are soaring, and the blame is as tangled as a feedlot queue. The core issue is supply: the US cattle herd has shrunk to a 75-year low, crushed by years of drought and soaring input costs, even as demand remains stubbornly strong. Trump’s trade war has poured fuel on the fire. Tariffs on steel and machinery have driven up ranchers’ operating expenses, while the chaotic back-and-forth with China—briefly locking US beef out of a key market—has added volatility rather than relief. To be fair, blaming Trump alone oversimplifies things; the herd crisis predates him. But his interventions, from tariff whiplash to a hasty import quota that tanked cattle prices, have made a bad situation worse.

Guest Info: Dr. Derrell Peel holds the Charles Breedlove Professorship of Agribusiness in the Department of Agricultural Economics. He has served as the Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist since 1989. His extension programs focus on livestock market situation and outlook and marketing/risk management education for producers. Additionally he works on meat demand and meat supply chain issues and beef product marketing. He also works in the area of international cattle and beef trade and have particular expertise in the Mexican cattle and beef industry.