A new American Farm Bureau Federation analysis is showing increased beef imports approved by President Trump have not meaningfully lowered grocery prices.
Scott VanderWal is president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. “30 of 41 tracked to grocery stores across the U.S. that ground beef prices were unchanged,” said VanderWal. “The average price fell only 16 cents over the whole test, so that fell far short of the 25 percent discount encouraged by the proclamation.”
He says Farm Bureau is encouraging the Trump administration to roll the plan back. “Which is what they did when they put it into effect. They put a provision in that would cancel that if it didn’t work,” VanderWal noted.
VanderWal says the timing was also poor. “A huge percentage of the calf crop changes hands about this time of year, where they go to sale barns and they go to feedlots or wherever, and to have that price drop at that time costs the ranchers anywhere from $300 to $400 a head,” he said.
VanderWal says expanding the US cattle herd and growing domestic beef production is the best way to control consumer prices long-term.