Beef prices in the United States have surged to record highs, turning into a major political and economic challenge. Donald Trump, who once insisted that inflation was “dead,” now faces growing criticism as soaring beef costs threaten his promise to lower grocery bills. This week, he used social media to urge ranchers to reduce their cattle prices. But his comments — along with new proposals from his administration — have drawn fierce backlash from ranchers who fear the plans could hurt their livelihoods without cutting prices for consumers.
America’s cattle crisis deepens
The number of cattle ranchers in the US has been shrinking for more than four decades. Domestic beef supply continues to fall while demand remains strong, pushing prices higher. The country’s cattle inventory is now at its lowest point in almost 75 years. Since 2017, the United States has lost more than 150,000 cattle ranches — a 17% drop, according to the Agriculture Department.
Ranchers say that decades of consolidation among meat processors have left them with fewer buyers and less bargaining power. Rising costs for fertiliser, feed, and machinery have added to the strain. Years of drought have also forced many ranchers to sell off large portions of their herds.
In Illinois, rancher Christian Lovell said pastures that once grew thick, green grass are now dry and barren. “You put all these together and you have a recipe for a really broken market,” said Lovell, who works with the advocacy group Farm Action.
Consumers struggle with record beef prices
Retail beef prices have climbed far faster than overall food inflation. Ground beef rose 12.9% in the past year, while beef steaks jumped 16.6%, according to new government data. A pound of ground chuck now costs $6.33, up from $5.58 a year earlier. Overall food inflation sits at just 3.1%.
“The cattle herd has been shrinking for several years, but Americans still want beef,” said Brenda Boetel, an agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.
Derrell Peel, a professor at Oklahoma State University, said prices are likely to remain high until the end of the decade. Rebuilding cattle herds, he explained, is a slow process that can take years. Peel added that Trump’s administration has limited tools to address the issue in the short term.
Trump’s import proposal stirs rural backlash
The Agriculture Department this week introduced a sweeping plan to strengthen domestic beef production by expanding grazing lands and supporting smaller meat processors. But controversy erupted when Trump proposed importing more beef from Argentina — potentially quadrupling the current amount.
Eight House Republicans sent a letter to the White House warning that the plan could devastate American ranchers. Even the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which usually supports Trump, said the move “creates chaos during a critical time for producers while doing nothing to lower grocery prices.”
Trump defended his position by pointing to tariffs that restrict Brazilian beef imports. “They have to get their prices down,” he wrote. “The consumer is a big factor in my thinking.” But his remarks did little to ease tensions in the farming community.
Justin Tupper, president of the US Cattlemen’s Association, said the import plan would mainly benefit the four major meat-processing companies. “I don’t see that lowering prices here at all,” he said.
Big meat corporations under fire
Experts argue that fixing the beef market requires breaking up the power of a few giant processors. Four companies — Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef — control more than 80% of the beef slaughtering and packing market in the US.
“These are consolidated markets gouging ranchers and gouging consumers,” said Austin Frerick, an agricultural and antitrust specialist at Yale University.
The companies have faced multiple lawsuits, including one from McDonald’s accusing them of colluding to inflate beef prices. Earlier this year, Trump rolled back a Biden-era order that pushed federal agencies to fight corporate concentration in food production. Even so, his administration has begun investigating competition practices in agriculture.
A tough future for American ranchers
In Kansas, rancher Mike Callicrate has managed to survive by cutting out middlemen and selling beef directly to consumers. But he admits that most ranchers cannot afford that approach. Many have already left the business — and see no reason to return.
“We’re not going to rebuild this cow herd — not until we address market concentration,” Callicrate said. He supports plans to open more grazing land but warns, “Without a fair market, you’re a fool to get into the cattle business.”
Bill Bullard, head of the trade group R-CALF USA, closed his 300-cow ranch in South Dakota in 1985 as consolidation spread. He said ranchers only recently began receiving better prices because supplies have dropped so low that processors had no choice but to pay more.
Still, Bullard said ranchers remain wary. Heavy dependence on imports and the power of meat packers continue to undermine confidence in the market. “He’s focused on the symptoms, not the problems,” Bullard said of Trump’s strategy.
For now, America’s beef crisis shows no sign of easing — leaving ranchers struggling, consumers paying more, and Trump caught in the middle of a growing political storm.
