Where’s the Beef?

Here is what their trade association had to say:

Opinion piece for the Lexington-Herald Leader talking about the bailouts for Argentina, while they sell soybeans to China. Meanwhile, China has not placed any new orders this year for American soybeans.

Sorry, Kentucky farmers. We're making Argentina great again, not you | Opinion

"The U.S. Treasury has already committed a $20 billion line of credit to Argentina and is working on an additional $20 billion financing package, supposedly to stabilize the South American nation's collapsing currency. Meanwhile, due to Trump's tariff games, China ramped up its purchases of Argentine soybeans while U.S. soybean farmers watch their primary export market vanish."

Beef prices for US consumers are off the charts while demand remains very strong for beef products ( bought a Big Mac or Whopper lately?). The US domestic herd supply is the smallest in 75 years according to the National Cattlemens Beef Association ( NCBA), one of the most important marketing and info arms of the industry. Tight supplies and strong demand have driven the higher prices and the gurus say that price trends will continue until the supply side (w/ multiplicative influences) is strengthened significantly and/or consumers choose alternate protein sources. People still like burgers and continue to buy them despite significant price hikes as they continue to meander through the drive-thrus. Yet, trends indicate a little bend / reticence in that market recently. 

The beef producers are pissed off at Trump for the apparent market manipulation associated with the Argentine beef move and tariff actions there and elsewhere. They view it as  interference in the beef 'free market' and additive to econ uncertainty. The Trump - Argentina move was supposedly enacted to lower consumer beef prices. The truth is that the US produced a little over 12 M metric tons of beef in 2024/2025 ( 10 M metric tons domestically + 2 M metric tons imported) according to NCBA. The Trump administration's increased quota for Argentina produced beef will only involve an additional  80,000 metric tons of product if fully enacted..it's likely not enough to move either the supply or price needles in the end. 

Currently  and continuing into the fall season, this is the typical annual payday period for US beef producers ( ie many send live animals to market in the fall). Trump's move with Argentina beef quota increases was /is terrible from an optic / psychological perspective and a visible mistake for our beef producers ( they view it as bad principle and it  is, though the real additive amounts to the beef supply and eventual effects on pricing will likely be very minimal if at all in the actual marketplace).

National Cattlemens Beef Association

and

USDA

You have to admit, it's really funny how you completely blamed Biden for high beef prices nine or ten months ago. Only grudgingly writing one sentence on herd supply at my prompting. Did the drought conditions and small herd supply happen in the last ten months? Pretty funny glaring bias.

No I never completely blamed Biden for high prices and I certainly didn't cast Trump in a good light in the above post. Maybe you're actually biased against anybody you think has conservative stances, yeah? I think so because you made a similar comment as above previously and I fully assigned levity to herd supply and drought as major effects and it was certainly beyond a one sentence comment; you act as if I didn't for the second time. As I recall my original comment in earlier threads among factors affecting beef prices included fuel prices. Only an idiot would refuse to believe fuel prices don't affect ag / beef prices. You took that and morphed it into something that I didn't address. Are you insecure, or just need to raise hell against your perceived opposition? I'm not playing that. But, think as you will.

You never "completely" blamed Biden, my ass. You made dozens of posts about "Bidenflation belch grunt snort." We read them. Why weasel now?

And as a faithful MAGA, you delicately step over the true cause of high beef prices: TRUMP. Trumpiffs are causing Trumpflation, PLUS the Turd's Final Solution has driven away millions of workers.

Farmers are affected more than most. Every commodity they use, feed, fuel, supplies, equipment, is more expensive because of Trumpiffs, either directly or indirectly. Labor shortages affect production, transport, and marketing.

I do applaud you for murmuring a tiny bit of implied criticism of Trump. For a MAGA, that is an act of apostasy equal to oh, I don't know, storming the Capitol with the intent of killing everyone within.

But for God's sake, don't admit it! I don't want you to suffer "retribution."

Yeah, whatevah...

I thought the commercials were funny, even if they were corny.   That was the appeal.

https://www.comedyhistory101.com/comedy-history-101/2020/2/4/history-of-wheres-the-beef

That commercial was awesome, and one of the old gals was the mother of a good friend of ours (who died a few years ago.) Guess I'm showing my age here...

Liberals don't have the ability to look past the end of their nose.