Colorado ranchers concerned over impact of imported beef
Colorado's cattle ranchers say they're worried about President Trump's plan to lower beef prices by temporarily allowing "no out-of-quota tariff" beef imports.
On Friday, the president announced that the U.S. will waive higher tariffs on ground beef imports and allow up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported over the next 90 days.
Currently, the average price of a pound of beef is $6.89, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. They say ground beef costs have increased 57% over the last five years.
The North Park Stockgrowers Association told CBS Colorado that the plans to import beef will make things much harder for Colorado's ranchers during an already difficult time.
Cattle ranchers in the U.S. are already facing a historic herd shortage, causing an increase in beef prices. Colorado ranchers say prolonged drought, increasing costs, and labor shortages are causing significant challenges. Beef is the state's biggest agricultural export, but herds are the smallest they've been in 75 years.
"Drought conditions all over the western United States are just compounding the problem. So, yeah, everybody's already under a lot of pressure with high feed prices. [It's] certainly not helpful," said Mark Hackleman, North Park Stockgrowers Association vice president.
The Colorado Cattlemen's Association and Colorado Livestock Association also released a joint statement, saying, "Colorado producers need as much stability and clarity as possible. Uncertainty in the markets and a lack of clarity from the administration on tariff policies that may harm producers is deepening concerns, particularly as many producers begin making important livestock marketing decisions."
On the Glenn Beck Program on Wednesday, President Trump said he would look into potentially reducing regulations for beef processing plants and that four companies have a monopoly on the industry. Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packaging control about 85% of meat processing in the U.S.
