East of Broken Bow | Doug61 - 2/7/2026 13:18
This is the same story as in late October - early November. The news is that plan is now signed. That's all.
I saved 26 heifers for replacements (10 more than last year) from spring '25 calving. Now, I'm committed to a ulta short breeding exposure, pg check 49 days later and ship open into this starved feeder head count market.
Trump is not following MAGA promises. Like so many politicians, he is chasing votes. There are 2 ways to look at this action. Both center on the fact that the impact of Argentina's added exports is minimal.
1. Is banking on this fact and Trump's supporters think it is simply for public consumption that's some is being done to help wallets.
2. Sure it had limited impact on prices, Argentina 4x export add up to about week's consumption. But this effort sets the stage for a bigger action perhaps expanded exports from Brazil. And that could impact the domestic beef market.
I hope the future holds the first view because the second means Trump will throw his most loyal supporters under the bus to gain votes.
My concern is Trump is committed to breaking the beef prices and at a calculated domestic cost, shipping cattle/beef industry to foreign interests.
Not to get overly political, but I have no reason to think that if Harris were President, that there wouldn't be as many or more imports coming in from other countries. Considering all the cries of 'isolationism' for Trump wanting to limit imports of everything else, I see no reason to believe that they would not let beef across the border unfettered.
Lastly, and I'll get off my soapbox, I really think that the government should just make sure we are being treated fairly, and then keep their fingers out of the markets as much as possible. The cow/calf guy is FINALLY getting to where they are making good coin, and the first thing that you hear from the government is that there needs to be a stop to it. Here's a news flash: If the government officials continue to say they are going to punish the cow/calf guys for making too much money in the future, why in the world would they want to hold back high dollar yearling heifers when our leadership is openly saying that they want to bring down the price of the calves they will raise? Better to cash in now, and keep heifers next year when the prices are lower. |
Trump signs executive order quadrupling beef imports from Argentina
