That said, we don't need big govt to big govt though

The 'free market' and 'capitaliism' comments are dumb.

Instead of importing, who knows what from South America, make it easier for US farmers to grow and sell beef to the public.

A million new farmers would spring up overnight.

More American kids raised on farms.

More people knowing where their food comes from.

People getting old and cashing out ( while the market is high ) is also why overall numbers are down

Just driving around seems Lots of people trying to get an Ag exemption growing hay

I see Lots more round bales than cows
The screwworm and restriction on Brazilian beef is keeping prices high

Normally those two factors would have mitigated the run up in prices

That's a great long term solution, but it doesn't fix the short term problem at all.

Seems like the deal might involve lowering or eliminating the tariff and/or quota on beef coming from Argentina.

agAngeldad said:

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Eat More Chicken.

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F*** no.

javajaws said:

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I thought all the pricing problems with beef was from the processors not from the ranchers. Is this no longer the case?

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It's cyclical. Between the cow-calf operations, stockers, feedlots, and packers, somebody is making money while the other 3 are losing money/breaking even. Everybody leans on the good years to make up for the bad ones.

agAngeldad said:

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Eat More Chicken.

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Hell to the naw naw naw

What impact will losing the Chinese market have? Tariffs pretty much shut that down & that was a billion + export market gone (at least temporarily)

My best guess is Brazilian beef that used to come here and reduce domestic prices has been cut off which keeps the price here stable even if we are exporting less to China

Chinese eats bats not beef

Overlords want you to be eating more chicken and pork, they can feed the world with less space if you eat their bird meat. They can't control the cattle market because you need way way way way too much land that is mostly owned by generational farming families - can't be letting these families make that kind of money

Well I think that may be domestic bat, but like I said it's a billion dollar export market virtually gone.
Replaced by imports from Australia & Brazil

texagbeliever said:

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1 lb of ground beef is nearly $8. A few years ago that was $4. Food cost inflation is ridiculous.

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This...ground beef was always the high protein on a budget hack. Not so much anymore.

One Eyed Reveille said:

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Chinese eats bats not beef

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I see what you did there.

For those in the industry - what sort of policy decisions would be good to fix the pricing problem without overly hurting those actually raising the cattle?

JVSchroeder said:

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Quote:

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We are working on beef, and I think we have a deal on beef that's going to bring the price [down]... That would be the one product that we would say is a little bit higher than we want it, maybe higher than we want it, and that's going to be coming down pretty soon too. We did something, we worked our magic.

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Feeder cattle futures are down over 2% so far this morning.

Every single cattle rancher I know voted for him.

Finally, we have a good market, and now he's going to undercut it.

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If you are going to project your fake outrage, at least do it from a position of intelligence.

javajaws said:

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For those in the industry - what sort of policy decisions would be good to fix the pricing problem without overly hurting those actually raising the cattle?

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Make it rain.

texagbeliever said:

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1 lb of ground beef is nearly $8. A few years ago that was $4. Food cost inflation is ridiculous.

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I was expecting prices on groceries to go down, as was "promise made, promise kept" during the campaign.

Any day now, maybe? Maybe?

JVSchroeder said:

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Quote:

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We are working on beef, and I think we have a deal on beef that's going to bring the price [down]... That would be the one product that we would say is a little bit higher than we want it, maybe higher than we want it, and that's going to be coming down pretty soon too. We did something, we worked our magic.

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Feeder cattle futures are down over 2% so far this morning.

Every single cattle rancher I know voted for him.

Finally, we have a good market, and now he's going to undercut it.

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Please link your quote...

Droughts and fires. Cattle population is at a all time low. Feed yards are feeding to higher slaughter weights to make up part of the difference. Projections for increase in numbers are not supposed rise for 2 years.
In addition, if the screw worm outbreak is not stopped in Mexico it will get worse.

It is a demand and supply problem. Replacement bred heifers are selling for $3000 at the sale barns,

Quote:

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Joined May 20 2025. 11 posts. Shocked

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And you have over 12,000 posts in 25 years and contributed nothing to this thread.

To answer another posters question, between feedlots and droughts, it's been a tough market for ranchers who finally figured out how to get profitable again after adjusting herds.

Not sure why the govt needs to step in and fix this, the market will adjust as it always does.

There needs to be a happy medium just like with oil. Producers should be able to earn a good wage for their toils, but there is an inflection point where it disproportionately hurts the consumer. It's really not the price of beef that is the issue, it's how much the processor/packer is taking versus the producer.

While the price of beef has been high lately, the rancher isn't seeing his increase proportionately compared to the processor. Also, there are macro factors at play. Texas has been in a drought and a lot of ranchers had to sell off their herds because of a lack of grass/feed. This reduction in supply has caused prices to rise. Although, with prices up this significantly, I'm sure there will be more people getting into the cattle business which will help to balance the supply and demand.

Price manipulation is dumb liberalism. Removing government barriers to competition is good.

Look at me, look at me. I've got cows!!

"Tank the market"

KALALL said:

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Get rid of wildlife exemptions in Texas and force landowners back into grazing leases to keep their property taxes low. You need more acreage for grazing to increase the herd and the available land keeps getting smaller.

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That sounds great and all, but if there's more grass in my living room than in that pasture because it hasn't rained in six months, that doesn't fix the problem.

JVSchroeder said:

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Quote:

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We are working on beef, and I think we have a deal on beef that's going to bring the price [down]... That would be the one product that we would say is a little bit higher than we want it, maybe higher than we want it, and that's going to be coming down pretty soon too. We did something, we worked our magic.

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Feeder cattle futures are down over 2% so far this morning.

Every single cattle rancher I know voted for him.

Finally, we have a good market, and now he's going to undercut it.

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This is so tone deaf.

You want to know what kind of market sucks to be a cattle rancher in? One that prices out everyone but the wealthy.

Hopefully it's a deal with Brazil. I need
My John Deee stock to go up.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Price manipulation is dumb liberalism. Removing government barriers to competition is good.

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You guys remember when Trump said, "I alone can fix it." Granted, that's when he wanted to be part of the government, but still.

JVSchroeder said:

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Quote:

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We are working on beef, and I think we have a deal on beef that's going to bring the price [down]... That would be the one product that we would say is a little bit higher than we want it, maybe higher than we want it, and that's going to be coming down pretty soon too. We did something, we worked our magic.

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Feeder cattle futures are down over 2% so far this morning.

Every single cattle rancher I know voted for him.

Finally, we have a good market, and now he's going to undercut it.

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