The Beef Tariff Pause Isn't Helping Our Ranchers. You Can.

Last Friday, President Trump announced a temporary pause on beef import tariffs, opening the door for up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign ground beef to enter the U.S. tariff-free over the next 90 days. Foreign exporters have reportedly committed to selling that beef at 25% below current market prices. Their goal is to bring down grocery bills before the midterms.

Grocery prices have been a concern for American families, with ground beef pushing $7 a pound, up 63 cents since last July. Sirloin is closing in on $15. Those numbers are hurting families trying to get food on the table, and Nebraskans understand that.

However, the reasons that beef costs are high right now are not a mystery, and this problem should not be solved by flooding the market with subsidized imports. The U.S. cattle herd sits at 86.2 million head, the smallest count since the early 1950s according to USDA data. This is a problem that can’t fix itself overnight, or with a short-term import decision.

Why the herd actually shrank.

How did we get here? Diesel, equipment parts, fertilizer, and feed all got more expensive at the same time borrowing costs rose, which made the debt financing that herd expansion requires a much harder call for producers to make. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City research has found that farm earnings decline reliably with drought. Nebraska, as well as other areas in the U.S., has dealt with drought and wildfire losses in recent years.

According to NPR, cattle operations dropped roughly 17% between 2017 and 2022, from about 883,000 to 732,000. With steep barriers facing the next generation, trying to get into the industry is becoming extremely difficult.

This issue cannot reverse itself quickly. A cow carries a calf for nine months, and that calf needs another 17-plus months before it's market-ready, putting the cattle cycle on roughly a 10-year clock. Nebraska producers spent years absorbing rising land, labor, equipment, and feed costs without having time to rebuild the beef herd. The factors that got us here are clear. What's just as clear is that the new tariff-free imports don't give that rebuild the support it needs; they work against it instead. Nebraskans are not staying quiet about how this decision will affect them.

Nebraska is speaking out.

This announcement has left many Nebraskans shocked and disappointed. Increasing herd sizes requires making long-term investment decisions, and actions like this add another concern to producers. According to an article by Nebraska Public Media, Nebraska Cattlemen President Craig Uden pointed to the fact that this decision comes at the time of year when producers are deciding whether to make commitments to expand, and uncertainty like this makes ranchers "restless" about whether that bet is worth taking. Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue agreed, bringing up the fact that though cattle scarcity is driving the market up, this gives ranchers the capital they need to expand herds and recover from drought and wildfire losses. Using imports to temporarily lower market prices slows that recovery, as Nebraska producers themselves are not benefiting from the sale of imported beef.

According to an article by KETV, Joan Ruskamp, who operates J&S Feedlot, said: "We can control our conditions, our nutrition and the way we take care of our cattle. It's those outside forces that are the hardest for us to navigate, especially a sudden release of news."

Nebraskans are dedicated to providing high-quality beef that feeds the world. In a time where agriculture is already facing many financial barriers, they need direct support now more than ever, not foreign subsidies driving the market down. This raises an important question: how can we as Nebraskans support our producers right now? When Washington makes decisions that do not align with Nebraska agriculture’s best interests, we have to fight back.

How you can help Nebraska ranchers right now.

It's not enough to care about ranchers when beef prices make headlines. They need buyers every week, not just this one.

There are avenues every Nebraskan can take to provide support to our local producers. Ask your grocer or your favorite restaurant where their beef comes from. Seek out Nebraska brands and local processors instead of defaulting to whatever's cheapest on the shelf this month. Buy direct from a producer when you can. Every one of those choices keeps a dollar circulating in a Nebraska community.

This is exactly the problem we exist to work on. Our mission is to empower local farmers and ranchers through member-owned solutions that preserve legacies, foster innovation, and build generational wealth, not to leave them exposed every time a policy shift changes the game. We are working to protect Nebraska agriculture from decisions made far outside Nebraska, whether that's a land sale under pressure or a market suddenly reshaped by imported supply.

We think Nebraska agriculture can push back against situations like this with action instead of just absorbing the hit. Buying locally is one step you can take right now to make a statement in support of Nebraska ranchers.

Nebraska built this industry one herd, one generation, one hard year at a time. Nebraska agriculture is worth protecting, and we are dedicated to empowering producers to keep this industry growing, thriving, and feeding the world for years to come.

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