SLAUGHTER — The Trump administration is allowing 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef into the country to bring down record prices for consumers.

President Trump signed a proclamation that temporarily lowers tariffs on some foreign beef imports. The administration expects the beef to arrive in three 30-day shipments starting Sept. 1.

Amelia Kent, co-owner and manager of Kent Farms LLC and vice president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, said the administration's announcement last Friday to bring in an additional 300,000 metric tons of ground beef and lean beef trim at a reduced tariff rate is sending a troubling signal to cattle producers.

"The signaling it's providing to all of agriculture and cattle producers, especially cattle producers like me, is really troubling because yes, we're having record-high beef prices and that is correlated with record-high cattle prices," Kent said. "But everything else is high right now too."

Kent said she can appreciate that the president is trying to help consumers with rising food costs, but the cattle market has already felt the impact.

"The way the cattle market has responded in the past week is what is really challenging for cattle producers across the board," she said, "because very similar to the stock market, the cattle markets have shown a reaction to the president's announcement a week ago."

She said cash prices at the farm gate fell following the announcement, creating direct economic pressure on her business.

Kent said the cost of maintaining a single cow has nearly doubled since the pandemic. Before 2020, direct maintenance costs ran between $500 and $550 per cow. Now, when factoring in labor, that figure is approaching $1,000 per cow.

She also pointed to fuel and fertilizer costs that have nearly doubled since February as adding to the pressure cattle producers are already facing.

"Almost all of the expenditures we have throughout the course of a production year have increased, whether it's 50% or 75% or in some cases 100%," Kent said.

Kent said she and other ranchers would prefer to see markets play out without government interference and believes targeting diesel fuel and fertilizer costs would have a broader benefit than adjusting beef import tariffs.

She also pointed to a series of challenges stacking up for the cattle industry, including the national cow herd sitting at its smallest size in 70 years, a New World Screwworm parasite threat that has halted live cattle imports from Mexico into Arizona, New Mexico and Texas for the past 14 months, and infrastructure strain in Texas tied to feed and packing capacity.

"We've got almost a perfect storm on supply relative to the cattle producer," Kent said.

Kent also raised concerns about the inspection standards of foreign beef compared to domestic production.

"Beef that's been grown, harvested and processed in the United States has incredibly high inspection standards ensuring health and safety through that entire process down to the consumer public," she said. "And we cannot say the same about some of our other beef-producing countries and their inspection standards."

Trump's proclamation, which takes effect Sept. 1, applies only to lean beef trimmings used to combine with U.S. beef for ground beef. The 300,000 metric tons will be delivered in three 30-day tranches over more than 90 days.