Neil Yelderman, a cattle rancher in Southeast Texas, says President Donald Trump's plan to quadruple low-tariff imports of beef from Argentina means ranchers in the U.S. 'wont survive.' - REUTERS
00:00Things were looking up for cattle rancher Neil Yelderman until Trump announced his plan to import more Argentine beef.
00:08Us poor cattle ranchers out here struggled many, many, many, many years and finally having a really good year.
00:17And so the news from Argentina, no, it's not the greatest news in the world.
00:23The 59-year-old in southeast Texas says ranchers like himself are finally seeing profits.
00:30After years of drought, which meant expensive feed and limited grazing areas.
00:35But at grocery stores, Americans are facing record high beef prices.
00:40And Trump is planning to quadruple low-tariff imports of beef from Argentina in an effort to lower those prices.
00:47Me, myself, pretty fortunate. We own our own land.
00:50We don't have our cattle mortgaged at the bank, but a lot of my neighbors do.
00:56They're on lease land and they have big mortgages, you know, on their cattle.
01:05And they will not survive.
01:07Argentine beef represented only 2% of total imports in 2024, according to government data.
01:14And Texas A&M University livestock economist David Anderson says importing more beef from the country likely won't save American consumers money.
01:22The majority of the beef we import are lean beef trimmings to go into ground beef and hamburger.
01:29Whether it's ground beef at your grocery store or at restaurants, you know, it's hard to see a little bit more from Argentina really doing much for a hamburger.
01:40It's your favorite hamburger joint.
01:41Tight cattle supplies and strong consumer demand have influenced the spike in U.S. beef prices.
01:47Anderson says the current U.S. cattle inventory is its lowest since 1951.
01:53And Yelderman warns that more years of financial strain for American ranchers could mean even fewer cattle.
01:59It turns into a, what do I do?
02:03I've got bills to pay.
02:04And where I thought I could sell just my calves to pay the bills, now I have to sell, you know, start getting into my herd, start selling some of my mama cows and bulls to make my note at the bank.
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