By Sylvia Goodman
President Donald Trump’s bid to lower beef prices ahead of the midterms has prompted backlash from the Kentucky groups representing beef producers.
The Kentucky Farm Bureau and Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association say President Donald Trump’s plan to import foreign beef at lower retail prices ahead of the midterm elections will harm the industry and an attempt to rebuild domestic cattle herds.
Allan Bryant, the president of the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association, told Kentucky Public Radio the announcement has already wreaked havoc on the industry as cattlemen are looking toward the future as many spring-born calves begin to wean.
“This is when we make decisions of what does next year look like for us?” Bryant said. “Are we keeping replacement heifers? Do we sell them? Do we buy more cows to build up our herd? This has put a damper and made us kind of scratch our heads and think, ‘Oh my, what's next to come, and what is this cattle market going to be like?’”
Trump announced last week he had struck a deal to import hundreds of thousands of tons of ground beef at a lower tariff rate in exchange for retail prices below market rates. Some usually loyal GOP allies of the president have rebuked the plan, including Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming.
Kentucky is one of the biggest beef producers in the country, but Bryant said the number of cows in the state is trending downwards — a pattern he hopes cattlemen can reverse in the state.
Click here to see more...