08/28/2026
Beef has been a hot topic in the news this week, and the new executive order to allow 300,000 metric tons of ground beef into the US at 25% below market price definitely hurts.This does not help the American rancher, or help rebuild the US beef herd.
The US cattle herd is the smallest it's been since the 1950s, yet demand continues to grow. Consumers want high quality, American beef. Protein is trending, and in a post Covid world more and more people are cooking at home and want to know where their food comes from.
In the early 2000s, we had to push back against the anti red meat and lab grown "meat" culture. Now it feels good to finally be past that, with beef being recognized as the nutrient dense, high quality protein that it is. So as producers, it's very hard to now have to deal with policies that hurt us as ranchers and don't instill trust in consumers.
It will take time to rebuild the American cattle herd. Gestation for a cow is 9 months, just like humans. Then it takes that calf about 24-36 months to be ready for slaughter. So growing the cattle herd will not happen overnight. This is generational work.
We want to operate in a free and fair market, and provide consumers with high quality, American beef. Policies like this hinder us from doing that.
We also know everything is more expensive. A 24 pack of Cokes cost about $15. A box of cookies and chips cost anywhere from $9-15. So why is beef, which is obviously much more nutrient dense, being targeted?
The cool thing about beef is there are cuts available at every price point, from ground beef, to round steak, to roasts, to ribeyes. And it's the highest quality protein, in our opinion.
We’re in the best position to promote American beef than we ever have been.
We face so many obstacles as ranchers and things outside our control. 93% of our state is in a drought. Much of West is on fire. We lose land every single day to development. A packer monopoly holds 85% of our beef supply captive.
And the older generation is dying out while the next generation is scared or unable to come back to the ranch. We need young people getting involved in ag and being inspired to come back to the ranch, and confident in that decision.
So from rural America to Washington DC, we want you to bet on American ranchers, and bet on American beef. We will rise to the occasion given the opportunity. Food security is national security, and we want true America first policies that don’t rely on foreign countries feeding us. We’re tough. We’re gritty. Let us do what we do best- raise high quality, American beef 🥩 🇺🇸
