Rollins: Additional beef imports needed to ease consumer costs

News Rollins: Additional beef imports needed to ease consumer costs U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says she supports President Trump’s proposal to temporarily ease restrictions on imported beef. “I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a president that has been more supportive of agriculture and farmers and ranchers than President Trump,” she said Friday night at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Rollins says the deal will help address tight supplies and high consumer prices. “Just the next 90 days we’re going to move in about 300,000 metric tons of just ground beef from other countries,” she said. “So that we can get a 25% decrease for families. Usually, lower income families rely on ground beef.” She tells Brownfield she’s aware of producer frustrations. “It did come at a time where I think a lot of people weren’t prepared for it,” Rollins said. Iowa cattle producer Bryan Whaley is the CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and says, “Even if it’s ground beef, it’s still beef that’s coming in from a foreign product.” Whaley says the government should avoid intervention and let the market work. “The thing that probably frustrated a lot of our cattle producers is now we’re going to undercut the market from a retail side,” Whaley said. “It’s not going to fix what they want to have on a long-term basis.” Illinois Beef Association Executive Vice President Josh St. Peters told Brownfield on Friday he’s disappointed with the administration’s action. He says U.S. producers are dedicated to raising the highest-quality beef for consumers at home and abroad. “President Trump made a promise to consumers today about lowering prices on the back of family farmers across the country,” St. Peters said. “That’s what’s got everybody furious.” Secretary Rollins says herd expansion remains the top priority. “I will never stop battling for our farmers and our ranchers in ensuring that our president fully has every data and detail that he needs to understand – and he does understand – that unless we rebuild our beef herd we will become more and more reliant on foreign countries.” Rollins says the U.S. needs to rebuild the herd while balancing affordability for consumers. AUDIO: Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins addresses President Trump’s beef import announcement AUDIO: Iowa Cattlemen’s Association CEO Bryan Whaley Add Comment