Trump's Trials - U.S. cattle farmers have beef with Trump over Argentina import plans

Episode Date: October 24, 2025

Cattle ranchers are upset at President Trump over his comments that he plans to buy beef from Argentina. Ranchers say it will hurt struggling farmers.Then, NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with agricultural economist and Kansas State University professor Glynn Tonsor about what President Trump's plan to import more Argentine beef could mean for U.S. producers and consumers.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow, and you're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. We're under invasion from within. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. The golden age of America is upon us. We are in the golden age. Each episode, we bring you the latest news about the 47th president and the policy changes he is pursuing on his own terms.

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On our new show, Sources and Methods, NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Steven Scape. And I'm Ame Martinez. President Trump is in another fight with farmers. First, it was over soybeans, which China stopped buying in retaliation for American tariffs.

Now it's beef. Trump has suggested buying meat from Argentina to lower prices for U.S. consumers. Ranchers say the move would hurt them. NPR's Juliana Kim reports on the beef over beef. Destiny Weeks from Oklahoma says ranching has never been easy. The conditions are tough. You face, you know, mother nature. You have no control over what she's going to give you.

It's been especially tough the past few years because of an intense drought throughout the Midwest. The cost of working the farm, like buying fertilizer, seeds, machinery has also gone up. You couldn't afford to feed them hay. As a result, many ranchers had to sell off their cattle, leading to a decline in U.S. beef production. That led to a spike in the price of beef at the grocery store. Agricultural economist David Anderson says the higher price tag is what's helping ranchers finally begin to recover. It is allowing them in many cases to recoup some losses from the past. Trump says he cares about farmers, but that he's also worried about Americans' budgets.

Meanwhile, Anderson is skeptical that importing beef from Argentina will make much of a difference. They just don't have the kind of supplies that they could export to us that would make much of a noticeable impact. Anderson says the U.S. is already importing a record amount of beef from other countries, including Argentina, and prices have still been high. Christian Lovell is a farmer from Illinois. He's also part of the nonpartisan advocacy group Farm Action. He worries that the more the U.S. relies on foreign competitors, there's no going back. It doesn't end well for domestic production. Lovel says the priority should be helping American ranchers rebuild their herds. Destiny Weeks from Oklahoma agrees.

I think that we should always choose to support our domestic producers. She says doing so aligns with Trump's agenda of America first. She just asked that it includes steak and hamburgers. Julianne Kim, NPR News. Okay, first, I'm hungry. But second, what's really going on here? We've called up Glenn Tonzer, who is a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University. And he also created an overseas what is called the Meat Demand Monitor Project at K-State.

Mr. Tonzer, good morning. Good morning, Steve. I don't know if you've had breakfast yet or if you ever have hamburger for breakfast. I mean... There will be meat in it when I do. That's good. I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad to hear that.

Okay, so I just heard a lot of contradictory signals. It was a little hard to figure out the narrative. It doesn't seem so simple that meat production has suddenly dropped and prices have suddenly gone up. What does the meat demand monitor tell you is actually happening? Yeah, the meat demand monitor is a pulse on domestic consumption and why we buy or don't buy what we do here in the U.S. And to put a bow on it is meat to demand

and even more narrowly beef demand has been very good last couple years. the public wants beef and they're willing to pay more for it than we used to think they are. Key to that, I believe, Steve, is taste. So taste leads the protein purchasing decision for U.S. residents. And over time, the beef industry has made notable improvements in beef quality that aligns with consumer eating experience and taste, and they're paying for it willingly. Wait a minute. It just, it tastes better. They've upgraded the product.

And so we're just, we're paying more and we're fine with that, is what you're saying. Yes. And the other thing that I would impose on this particular situation is we're producing a little less beef than last year, but by historic standards, we're still producing a lot of beef. We're just doing it with fewer cows. So there's an efficiency story in the industry as well, is we get more beef per animal in the system, and that's a great thing to talk about. But I think the key thing that's being overlooked in most of this discussion is strong beef demand

is pulling up prices, and the public simply wants more of that high-quality beef. Okay, so if that is the case, what do you think about when you hear the president say it's time to import more beef from Argentina to deal with the high prices? So I would reiterate what Dr. Anderson before me, you know, his quote was, we're already importing large volumes consistent with the public trying to consume more beef that's already occurring. and on balance, the volume that's available from Argentina, the probable duration of that and how their domestic policies may or may not evolve, and possible adjustments by other sources, all tell me on balance the likely effect of that announcement is pretty small on our markets. When we hear from cattle ranchers and so forth, I mean, I don't want to speak for all of them, but we get a sense that people are saying, wait a minute, what are you doing here? Why are you going to Argentina? I don't really understand this. Do you feel you understand what the purpose is? Um, no, but I'm not sure I should. I'm an analyst just like looking at the market. I think the countryside concern would be is some inconsistencies. So this latest announcement is, regardless of what one thinks about imports and the role in our economy and society, it's a little

inconsistent with other announcements in recent months. And I think the countryside is frustrated by that. Oh, you mean about reshoring and tariffs and everything else? That's the inconsistency? Yes. And, you know, I'm not taking a personal stand on that. But I think the country's countryside is maybe confused or frustrated with the inconsistency. Do you think it is necessary for us to have imported sources of beef as well as domestic sources to keep the market balanced? To sustain the volumes we've had historically, yes, and it's really important to remember we import largely beef to support our ground beef consumption, so not all beef is equal.

Rubai steaks is different than ground beef, and I won't geek out too much for your listeners, but it's not new that we import large volumes. we're just doing it even more in recent years, in part because of that consumer pull factor. And I want to ask also about the consumer here. I mean, the supposed driver of this is people who are concerned about prices, and let's be real. I mean, people are really concerned about the price of groceries and have been for several years. And inflation has calmed down, but the prices are still high compared to five years ago. Is there something that producers can do about that?

I would argue they have been in the sense that their efficiency gains are real. So we're producing more beef per cow than ever before. And that results in lower cost than we would have without those efficiency gains. So the industry is doing that, right? So breeding success, feeding success, lots of those things within the industry aren't new and they continue. And that's the effort by the industry to do that. But important for our discussion, Steve, is they're also doing it while improving things like the cattle quality that improves beef quality. If the president called you up and asked you for advice about something to say, something to do,

and you had one sentence with him. What's the sentence? My one sentence would be is the market appears to be working. The public wants more beef, and I think we're going to produce that in the years ahead. Agriculture economist Glenn Tonzer teaches at Kansas State University. Hope you do have a hearty breakfast, sir. Thanks so much. Thank you, Steve. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration, on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters

break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR. Fall in love with new music every Friday at All Songs Considered. That's NPR's Music Recommendation podcast. Fridays are where we spend our whole show sharing all the greatest

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