Where’s the Beef?

In Argentina apparently as Trump has decided we will be purchasing a significant amount of their beef to subsidize that country's farmers. 😂 

American farmers are dumber than a tree stump for voting for the guy the bends them over a barrel every chance he gets. 

Look on the bright side.  That trans kid in Oregon cant play on the girls volleyball team.

SO the farmer in Nebraska can take solace in that.

But who knew China would suddenly stop buying our soybeans?  Damn.

Candy

Interesting point.

China did boycott US soybeans in Trump's first term - but they didnt have a solid plan to go eleswhere for them.   So it was painful for them.      China remedied that in the years to follow.   Brazil makes enough soybeans to supply all of China if need be - and thats who China has turned to in the context of the ongoing trade disputes.     

The leverage Trump has in the short term is the logistics and pricing for Brazil soybeans is not  favorable for China compared to what they were getting from the US.....so they're paying more.   For now.     Thats not a permanent problem.

Going forward it will be interesting to see how it all falls out.   I predict China will permanently try to ease its dependance on the US for its soybeans.....just like the US will permanently try to ease its dependance on China for rare earth metals.       Thats doesnt paint a bright picture for US soybean farmers.      Lets hope for their sake Im wrong.   

It should have been obvious what would happen when Trump began levying tariffs. Other countries aren't just going to sit back and do nothing. In this case, China had been paying above market rates for our soybeans. Now they are getting their soybeans from Argentina and Brazil, and they won't be coming back unless Trump or some future President makes some kind of major concessions that get them to pay more for their soybeans.  Farmers are just going to have to accept that there won't be a large export market for soybeans going forward because Trump destroyed it. 

South American farmers sure are happy that Trump loves them and hates American farmers.

Well...you're not wrong. I was going to say "unfortunately," but ill fortune has nothing to do with it. They voted to have their livelihoods destroyed and now, guess what, their livelihoods are being destroyed.

I researched this. How difficult, and how costly, would it be for a soybean farmer to switch to another crop?

1. That switch would likely have to be to an export crop, since our domestic consumption needs are already fully met. In fact, our farmers produce twice what we consume.

2. Export crops are much harder to sell now because of the Trump wars and reciprocal tariffs.

3. Doing a crop changeover, unless to a virtually identical crop, takes both capital and time. The effect is usually the equivalent of one year without significant income. And banks are very reluctant to lend for that purpose.

4. A farmer might decide to let his fields lie fallow until Trump is dead and/or the Trumpiffs are removed. The obstacle there would be, of course, how to not go bankrupt in the meantime.

5. One thought would be to switch to a crop that we import, since Trumpiffs would have made such a crop more expensive. Trouble is...there are very few such crops, because usually, anything in demand, we can and already do grow here. But there might be opportunities in produce that we normally import from Canada or Mexico.

6. Part of Project Mein Kampf, er, 2025 is the removal of all farm subsidies, which keep many farm businesses afloat.

So my admittedly amateur analysis is that the coming months will see thousands of farmers (of all types) going out of business. They will, of course, blame Biden and/or the Democrats. Anyone but themselves.

Trump appears to actually have thought that none of the nations he shat on with Trumpiffs would fight back. I say this because he appears to have been genuinely surprised when they did just that. He's blown a gasket every time he got the news.

This is quite typical. Bullies only pick targets that they think can't or won't fight back and are surprised when they do. Trump clearly thought that the rest of the world was so dependent on us that they would meekly submit.

Instead, he has accelerated the replacement of the US by China as the world's dominant power by a couple of decades.

Not looking good for farmers. Today, Trump complained farmers weren't grateful enough for all of the wonderful things he has been doing for them. Which means, Trump doesn't want to bail them out. 

Did he enumerate those wonderful benisons he has granted them? Like making their crops impossible to sell?

He needn't worry, though. Drop in to Sadie's Coffee Shop in downtown Bum Fuck (David Miller's home town), and you'll see dozens of farmers bent over their coffee cups, all complaining about how the Democrats have screwed them over.

The Cattlemen sure don't like the idea.

US ranchers oppose Trump's plan to import more Argentine beef and experts doubt it will lower prices

"South Dakota rancher Brett Kenzy said he wants American consumers to determine whether beef is too expensive, not the government."

I guess that whole "I will lower prices on day 1" is a lot harder than MAGA thought. They sure were on board with it, though.

"the average price of a pound of ground beef hit its highest point ever at $6.32."

This quote is the best:

"“I continue to see things that I don’t really think are in the best interest of our country and the average citizen,” Kagay said. “I guess I hope he starts to see that and quits worrying about punishing opponents and winning whatever battle he’s involved in, and then tries to do what’s best for everybody.”"

Kagay wants him to act like an adult and a President; we all know that'll never happen.