ARLINGTON, Wash — Washington cattle ranchers say President Donald Trump’s plan to bring more foreign beef to America’s tables is bad for business, with some saying he is betraying a fundamental campaign promise.
Andrew Albert is the third generation to run his Arlington farm, Andrew’s Hay. He hopes his two sons will be the fourth.
“They may not be doing it like I’m doing it, but I’m trying to create opportunity for them,” Albert said.
Opportunity comes in the form of about 10 different crops raised on his farm, but right now the only one doing well is his cash cow: cattle.
“It’s the one bright light that’s keeping a lot of us guys across the country alive,” he said.
Low supply and high consumer demand are driving beef prices to a nationwide record high of $6.30 a pound, a rare situation not seen since the 1980s.
Now, President Trump plans to quadruple beef imports from a political ally in Argentina, ostensibly to lower prices — a reversal of his “America First” campaign promise.
Trump voters like Albert worry imports will take a cut out of their profits. He says he feels “stabbed in the back.”
“Well, it was kind of a gut punch, stabbed in the back. I’m trying to keep the faith that it will help American farmers, but that is not the path I was expecting,” Albert said.
Industry experts believe the amount of beef Argentina is able to supply to the U.S. won’t make a difference in the price consumers pay at the grocery store.
“It’s negligible, at best,” said Dillon Honcoop with the Whatcom County organization Save Family Farming. He says increasing supply through imports could push commodity traders to pay American farmers less for their beef, ultimately not helping consumers and hurting ranchers.
“At the end of the day it’s lose-lose for consumers and ranchers, and I think that is something most Americans wouldn’t want to get behind,” Honcoop said.
Back at the homestead, Albert prays the promises sown by President Trump’s “America First” pledge will reap a brighter future for his family farm.
“Maybe it’s part of a bigger strategy is what I’m hoping,” he said. “It’s hard to keep the faith with so many struggling.”
트위터 공유: 트럼프 약속 저버린 소 농장의 슬픔