Cheap Imports Do Not Equal Cheap Beef
By Jack Payne
Been at Hooker Creek just north of Jordan Valley since Wednesday night. Branding fall calves and shipping pairs back to Nevada. No cell service there so I missed President Trumps magic carpet ride referring to cheapening up beef. Brand inspectors, truck drivers and neighbors were asking me what I thought and I didn't know what they were talking about. I finally got to service late last night and made some calls to try and get the scoop. I put my thoughts in a text this morning while I was waiting for daylight. I will email to Secretary Brooke Rollins and hopefully will get a response. I think the most important thing for folks to understand is cheap imports don't equal cheap beef to the consumers. JBS isn't stupid, they know exactly what they are doing. That's why they have hired folks like Kellyann Conway to lobby for them.
Beef may be more expensive now than in the past but when compared to processed food it is still the bargain of the century. Especially when the nutritional value of beef is considered. Animals over 30 months are even more nutrient dense and therefore eliminating the USDA 30 month rule would be a critical step in Making America Healthy Again. There have been many comparisons of a pound of hamburger to monster energy drinks, potato chips, Doritos, soda and other ultra processed food. Beef is not expensive, beef is medicine. Consumers who eat more beef are saving $1000’s annually in medication and doctor visits. Plus they have more energy and are more productive in society.
For years now the big four packers and retailers have used monopolistic practices and cheap mislabeled beef imports to lower live cattle prices for the American ranchers while gouging the American consumers. This has driven 100’s of thousands of producers out of business. The packers are now sleeping in the bed they made. The $100’s of billions (with a B) they profited over the last few decades due to their predatory tactics has them very well healed. Finally the ranchers are able to make a small profit but in most cases these higher cattle prices have just caught up to the inflationary operating costs. Ranchers cannot be expected to operate at a loss for decades on end until all their cattle and land equity is gone. Low to no profitability combined with overburdensome government regulations and harassment from BLM, Forest Service, EPA, ESA etc is why the younger generations are not coming home to take over the family ranch. That is why we are becoming reliant on foreign countries with substandard animal husbandry practices for our beef. Food security is National Security.
Cheap, mislabeled imported beef has been used as a hammer to lower prices on domestic producers. If the packing industry and retailers had to be truthful about the origin of the beef they are selling, it would give consumers both confidence and choices. Currently the substandard imported beef is all sold as “Product of the US”. This leads consumers to believe they are buying wholesome, healthy, American beef. The meat mafia is using the good reputation of the American cowboy and rancher to sell imported beef from countries known to use slave labor and child slave labor, known corruption and ties to the drug cartels etc. MCOOL would solve this issue, if our President wants to lower beef prices, MCOOL is his answer. MCOOL gives the American consumers a choice. Those who are concerned about how and where their beef was raised and processed can choose American beef at a premium price, those looking to stretch their dollars can buy the imported beef at a discounted price. Under today's import rules ALL beef is sold at a premium because it's all labeled “Product of the US”. American consumers deserve the truth, and our ranchers deserve to be rewarded for their hard work and superior product.
We must explain and debunk the theory that imports equal cheap beef to the consumers. Nothing could be further from the truth. For example if Donald J Trump makes a really good buy on a piece of property in Florida or New York, there's no written rule that says if he wants to flip that property he can only mark it up 10%. He can sell it for whatever the market will bear. Same if bred cows are bringing $3500 and Jack Payne sees a young calvey cow in the weigh pen and buys her for $2400 by the pound. There's no written rule that I have to sell the cow at a discounted price. If the market is $3500, I can sell the cow for $3500. It's the same with imported beef, the importers, packers and retailers know down to the penny what the consumer market will bear. Just because they made a good buy on Argentine beef doesn't mean those savings will be passed on to the consumers. Cheap imports does not equate cheap beef to the consumers. Cheap imports only equals increased profits for the packers. In the long-term, cheap imports have the exact opposite affect on the beef prices in America. Because your smaller regional packing plants and mom and pop butcher shops/meat markets don't have access to barge loads and massive containers of beef, they cannot compete in the market place with JBS, Tyson etc. The big players lower beef prices temporarily to break the smaller operators and then buy them out. That's how the big have gotten so big and the small processors and meat markets are closed and boarded up.
Mistakes from the last 40 years have led us to where we are today. There is no easy or quick fix. We can't fix 40 years of bad policy overnight but we can reverse the trends if we get to work now. There are dozens of things the USDA and the Trump Administration can do to get our beef sovereignty and security back. We are at your service and ready to help, we know this industry inside and out. We want to help for the right reasons, not to pad our own pockets or help our friends. We want to help because we love our country, our communities and our way of life. We want to pass this legacy on to the next generation. There's something special about feeding your fellow countrymen good healthy beef. To be honest it stings when we hear the president we love and respect say "We've worked our magic". You can't waive a wand and make the American cowherds rebuild, and cheap imports will not do the trick. To assume all beef is equal is a slap to the face of the American ranchers who overwhelmingly support President Trump. Imports and bad policies are the reason we are here in this beef crisis. They are the problem not the solution. Please let us help get healthy American beef back on the dinner table of American families.
America First!
Sincerely
Jack Payne
Nevada Livestock Marketing
Fallon Nevada
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Jack Payne ranches in Nevada and Oregon, and owns and operates Nevada Livestock Market, in Fallon Nevada.
