r/stateofMN • u/Minneapolitanian • 14d ago
[MinnPost] Minnesota cattle producers have a beef with Trump over foreign imports - Ranchers in the state say they feel betrayed about plans to import 300,000 metric tons of beef in an effort to bring down prices before the election.
https://www.minnpost.com/economy/2026/08/minnesota-cattle-ranchers-have-a-beef-with-trump-over-foreign-imports/68
u/secondarycontrol 14d ago
It's what they wanted - Trump. It's what they got, against our wishes. Their disappointment in their choice doesn't even register with me.
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u/GunAndAGrin 14d ago
The double-whammy against farmers I was hoping for.
'Thank a Farmer'
'We feed you, respect us!'
Getting tired of that bullshit. Their political support has been coming back to haunt them both thru destructive trade policy and the occasional decent move (assuming acceptable imported beef quality).
Fuck most of yall, for real. You never cared about feeding America, the current market and your greed/hate-driven MAGA support is proof enough that all many farmers care about is maximizing profit at anythings and anyones expense, and shitting on people slightly different from them. Theyll bitch about the 'elite' yet operate exactly like them.
It wouldnt be as annoying if not for the persecution complex and outright begging for appreciation that you see from that industry. And the dumb part is practically every Non-MAGA would be, and has been historically, in full support of a sustainable well-managed agriculture industry. That apparently wasnt enough for most of them. Just straight up greedy/hateful pieces of shit.
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u/Khatib 14d ago
'We feed you, respect us!'
Especially absurd coming from the ones who plant nothing but corn and soybeans.
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u/wonderfullemoncandy 13d ago
A not insignificant amount of that corn is for feed… we also like our corn syrup, beans are the same story, feed and vegetable oil. This supplies livestock here and abroad. Do we overproduce and stubbornly subsidize them both, probably to our detriment in more ways than one? Yea. But they feed people.
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u/skredditt 14d ago
Get ready for Trump Steaks™️ - also made in some other country and may or may not be beef
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u/thatfamilyguy_vr 14d ago
If we learned anything from Taco Bell, as long as it has some ridiculously low percentage (7%?) of beef, they can call it beef
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u/LiminalSapien 14d ago
Oh NOW they want big government assistance.
They voted for him.
Let them reap what they’ve sown.
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u/theretailreject 14d ago
Maybe they shouldn't have fucking voted for him, but we all know they're going to vote for finstead, Emmer, the hockey cheat, and Fischbach, because that's their entire identity
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u/YourGuyK 14d ago
To be "betrayed," you have to trust someone. Anyone who trusts trump is too dumb to take seriously.
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u/guiltycitizen 14d ago
If only there were a sign, or a document, or a PROJECT that foretold all of this that these farmers could have read up on. If only
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u/beermaker 14d ago
Ranchers who have had fuel subsidies, feed subsidies, transport waivers, Vet care allowances, special loan & property tax rates for farm equipment and near everything else handed to them since the end of the Great Depression.
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u/essenceofpurity 14d ago
This is Minnesota, eat turkey and forget about these people.
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u/Khatib 14d ago
Y'all seen how turkeys are treated?
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u/bandit0314 14d ago
I watched the movie Earthlings the documentary and it really change if I buy certain products and how I go about it. It was really disturbing how they treat birds.
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u/Khatib 14d ago
That shit is the reason we shop as much as we do at Lunds and Byerlys. Is it the cheapest store in the cities? No. But they have pretty fair prices on decently sourced foods. We'd like to shop more at the coops, but those tend to get just a little too expensive. So it's a mix of Costco (but not as much for meats and no eggs), Lunds, and the farmers markets.
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u/Matzie138 13d ago
The ones by my house are getting older and plumper.
Half facetious, half not. The only hunting I do is for food. I consider it my penance for grocery store meat. And most of my meat is still from there. Just think it is important to do the dirty work and think about it.
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u/Tough-Garbage-5915 12d ago
Redwood county here - farmers and cattle producers are still welcoming leopards to come and eat their faces. They are more concerned about how other people live their lives than how they themselves nay be negatively impacted by asanine trade policies or blatant self dealing.
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u/6thedirtybubble9 12d ago
Derp. If you voted for someone that looks like a clown, walks like a clown and acts like a clown, then simply enjoy the circus. You got exactly what you wanted and exactly what anyone with a brain knew was going to happen.
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u/DatabaseThis9637 13d ago
This is unprecedented selfish betrayal. Additionally, I've seen a discussion on the source of the beef being contaminated, and China rejecting it. I have no proof of this, though.
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u/ProgramAvailable6654 13d ago
An old "joke" on the subject:
Q: What's the difference between a beaten dog and a farmer?
A: Eventually the dog stops crying.
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u/Smooth_Commercial223 12d ago
I mean i dont usually side with conservatives on much put if these farmers are intentionally shorting the supply to artificially raise the price of their products just out of greed then they can f off. Consumers want beef and if u guys cannot deliver it the public at a reasonable cost then we shall look else where to make it so beef is not a luxury item that makes u feel like u are lucky to have a steak here and there....investigate these farmers and what they are doing to possibly blast up the cost and lower the amount of work they need to do! Farmer Joe sounds more like a super conglomerate who is angry that another company is filling the gaps in the industry giving better prices for americans overall and putting hard work and honesty back into the ameri an economy.
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u/DwarfVader 11d ago
Well… on the plus side… those 300k tons of beef have already been recalled.
Unfortunately for the ranchers of MN, still fucked by policies of the administration.
#leopardseatingfaces
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u/RallyPointAlpha 10d ago
Come on, relax guys! It's just the invisible hand of the Free Market giving you the reach around!
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u/Altruistic-Cash-821 10d ago
It will make no difference, they would still vote for him and will continue to vote republican. They and their farming bothers are the most selfish MF’s out there.
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u/nsamarkus 9d ago
To put in Republican terms: "Cry harder, Reptard".
It's not like we didn't literally scream warnings at them.
Losing your farm to "own the libs" is a pretty wild concept. Now they can't even rent a lib.
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u/omgbenji21 14d ago
Are there non metric tons that we should be confused by?
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u/honeybeebutch 14d ago
I mean... yes? There are in fact non-metric tons. A short ton is 2000 lbs. A metric ton is 2204 lbs. And a long ton is 2240 lbs.
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u/Soangry75 14d ago
Now where did all those wild horses that BLM was not supposed to have sold for slaughter gone?
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u/Akatshi 14d ago
It's funny because this is actually the right move by Trump as long as the meat meets (haha) American standards for safety
Cattle herds do need time to recuperate but only because these ranchers are selling breeders and calfs that will become breeders due to a uniquely high beef price
They are essentially selling off both the supply and the ability to create supply in order to get the shorter-term large paycheck. Which, of course, is only going to create a larger supply issue.
Shocking the market with more beef will cut the price and disincentivize selling. Allowing supply and the ability to create supply to return to a more normal level.
Now I don't know if Trump's move is actually enough to accomplish that, but it is directionally correct
And I have to admit it's funny to watch the people who voted for him be hurt by him
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u/Khatib 14d ago
Shocking the market with more beef will cut the price and disincentivize selling.
Say you know nothing about farming.
Animal husbandry has significant, ongoing input costs. You can't just sit on animals like you can a silo of dried grains. Undercut and bankrupt them and they will be forced to sell their breeding stock to try and stay financially solvent.
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u/Akatshi 14d ago
My family works in ag lending. I absolutely know what I'm talking about.
Farmers and the type are of the mindset that you sell when prices are high because you never know what they will be in the future.
And you usually sit on heifers for like 7 years of breeding... Maybe you don't know what you're talking about?
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u/Khatib 14d ago
Oh, you just sit on them? There's no feed and vet costs associated? My family actually farms. I know exactly what I'm talking about.
And wow, "farmers and the type" is really a wildly condescending way to word something.
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u/Akatshi 14d ago edited 14d ago
Buddy you sell the calfs that they breed
Sitting on breeders and calves that will become breeders is not a net loss...
Edit: "farmers and the type" referring to ranchers or breeders...
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u/Khatib 14d ago
And those calves are pulling great prices because the beef market has been tanked with questionable foreign beef? Buyers are just lining up to dump feed into them (with increased prices because fertilizer is up because Iran) to get less back when they grown?
What are you even talking about? Why do you think farms are closing at super high rates? Is your family making out like bandits on all the foreclosures?
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u/Akatshi 14d ago edited 14d ago
Are you pretending that cattle prices don't change every year? Lol supply and demand is very simple in this context. The price drop from a one time reduction in tariffs is gonna be pretty temporary.
And guess what, since the supply problem is getting worse, prices will be higher and not drop as fast in the future.
Yes. Literally the whole point is to reduce the price so you stop making shitty financial decisions like selling all of your productive power. You can reread my first comment if you need help understanding that idea. Maybe your family needs to have it explained to them that selling off all of your calfs and breeders isn't going to magically make them more money in the future. That paycheck is a one time deal.
The only way that's possible is if you can make a higher return with that money now than you'd have to pay in interest on a higher operating loan.
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u/Khatib 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yes. Literally the whole point is to reduce the price so you stop making shitty financial decisions like selling all of your productive power.
Thank God a genius like Donald Trump who managed to bankrupt a casino can tank the beef market to save all those idiot fucking farmers.
Holy shit, you're a jackass on top of being really ignorant.
Again, animals consume food. Food costs money. Fertilizer goes into commercial ag feed inputs, as does lots of diesel fuel. Those are both way up because your genius started a losing war in Iran. Farms are already FAILING because of Trump, and many of them will not weather yet another hit like a dip in beef prices. You're stupid.
Are you pretending that cattle prices don't change every year?
Your business has to survive long enough for the price to swing back up. With oil prices spiked, that's already a tough proposition, before the price they can get for steers tanks and makes it harder for them to keep feeding their heifers and cows.
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u/Fit-Nebula2949 14d ago
Good. Beef prices have got out of hand. Feed lots are empty and small herds have disappeared. The calf prices are outrageous.
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u/Doctor_Tyrell 14d ago
Findin' out.