USDA Secretary Addresses Beef Prices and Imports
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins recently shared insights and concerns about beef prices and the importation of foreign beef in a conversation with Alex Marlow, senior editor-in-chief at Breitbart News.
During her appearance on The Alex Marlow Show, Rollins, appointed by President Trump, discussed key issues regarding cattle production.
“Every year, America consumes more beef than anywhere in the world. We grow the best beef through genetics and incredible research in some of the schools, and we’ve got the best ranchers in the world. But, we also consume the most beef,” Rollins noted.
Earlier this year, Rollins, along with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., introduced a revamped dietary guideline, highlighting that the emphasis on protein-rich diets has contributed to Americans eating “more beef now than ever before.”
According to her, the average American eats around 13 million metric tons of beef annually, with a portion coming from imports.
“Something that a lot of your listeners may not know is that we have always imported about two to three million of that 13 million, and most of that we’ve imported is the leaner, the ground beef, the less expensive beef,” Rollins mentioned. “The cuts, like steaks and filets, are usually sourced from American cattle. But we have long-imported ground beef.”
Rollins addressed President Trump’s decision to lift tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef for 90 days, a move that faced backlash from certain Republican lawmakers in ranching areas. She explained the rationale behind this action.
“What we inherited a year and a half ago was a 23 percent increase on average of food under Joe Biden. We have now brought that way down. The average is now around two percent, which is the 10-year average,” she explained. “But there are some outliers, and one of those is beef.”
She pointed out that with the lowest cattle herd in 75 years, and an increasing demand for beef, the usual pattern of rising prices leading to reduced consumption doesn’t seem to apply here. “People love their beef,” she emphasized, indicating that the decision to import more could help reduce the cost of ground beef, which is currently around $6.50 per pound.
Rollins acknowledged that many economically disadvantaged Americans depend on affordable ground beef for protein, and she expressed that “the president is attuned to that.”
“So we’ll see. Hopefully, it works,” she remarked. “If it doesn’t, he’s already said he’d go back to rip that [order] up and go back to the way it was before.”
When asked about a long-term solution, Rollins highlighted her initiatives aimed at remedying issues caused by the Biden administration, which she flagged as being unsupportive of cattle ranchers.
“They blamed cattle for climate change, right? They wanted nothing to do with our cattle ranchers,” she said, referencing restrictions placed on public lands where ranchers grazed their herds. “The Biden-Harris regime basically began to close all of that down.”
Rollins critiqued the previous focus of the USDA on diversity, equity, and inclusion instead of farming concerns. “I canceled 900 DEI trainings on day one. We have completely moved in the direction of working to solve those infrastructure problems,” she expressed.
She noted that four packers control 85 percent of American beef production, and that two are not even U.S.-owned, which has added pressure on ranchers over time. “So there are major structural issues that have resulted in this herd low.”
Despite this low herd count, Rollins mentioned that for the first time in a decade, there’s been an increase in heifer retention, meaning ranchers are keeping more female cows.
“So I think we are changing the fundamentals in such a way that for the long term, especially as Americans want more beef and the world wants more of American beef, we’re going to be able to meet that demand pretty significantly,” she concluded.
