American ranchers are facing the smallest cattle herd in 75 years. On Friday, President Trump said he would waiver beef tariffs on imported ground beef for 90 days in an attempt to bring beef prices down and rebuild the U.S. cattle herd.
American ranchers are facing the smallest cattle herd in 75 years. On Friday, President Trump said he would waiver beef tariffs on imported ground beef for 90 days in an attempt to bring beef prices down and rebuild the U.S. cattle herd. The President posted to Truth Social that 300,000 metric tons of ground beef will be sold 25% below the current market value. This month, the Department of Agriculture reported that Choice beef cost about $10. 49 per pound. "While America’s cattle producers share the goal of keeping groceries affordable for consumers, flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd," The National Cattleman's Beef Association said in response to the President's announcement. American ranchers said they are already dealing with a long list of issues driving the cattle shortage, including weather, high beef demand and urban development. "Developers that can pay a high price for land. At the end of the day, if a farmer wants to leave something to his family, the best case for him is probably to sell the land and leave the money to his family," Tennessee rancher Trevor Pennington said. According to the USDA, the United States entered 2026 with 86.2 million cattle and calves. That’s down more than 8 million animals since 2019. Pennington says it takes at least two years to produce a cow to be slaughtered for beef. He says rebuilding America's cattle herd could easily take a decade.
