特朗普宣布允许牧场主自行加工肉类以打破垄断

Does the president's move here shrink your profit margins at White Oaks Pastures? I suspect that it could. Uh, I'll say that, uh, uh, I am not opposed to opening the the, uh, borders for importation of beef. I think that we need it. I think that that beef is a wonderful health food that people are increasingly accepting and embracing. And I want to see wealthy people be able to eat beef. And I want to see poor people be able to eat beef.

Beef is, as you pointed out earlier, is as high as it's ever been. Um, my family's been on this farm since 1866, and beef has never been this high relative to other prices as it is right now. And it disturbs me that people who want beef need beef, can't afford beef. So the beef is there. They're very cheap, uh, to import. Uh, I think there's some that could be, uh, will be problems with imported beef, but it's cheap.

And there are people that, uh, would, would like to buy it. I love life of them, too. Yeah. What I have a real problem with is this, uh, the country of origin labelling. Until then. Until last January, first meat companies could bring in, uh, beef from many, many countries in the world. Uh, and label it product of the USA legally because value was added in this country. That is wrong. That is so wrong in every sense of the word.

I'm not opposed to, uh, the big four meat companies bringing in beef. I think it's good. I want people to be able to fold beef. I think it's horribly misleading to call product of the USA when the animals born, raised, slaughtered in South America or Australia or New Zealand or many, many other countries. You know, it's funny, Syd brought this up too. When we talked to him last evening. He brought up this very same issue, and he made the point as well, not only about the country of origin, but he said, when we're bringing in these imports, it's better to have them cross the border on the hoof than in the box.

Why is that? Well, I think it would be because you're spared, depending upon other governments for the manufacturing process of slaughter. But in some practical, uh, beef is brought into the cattle and brought into this country on the hoof, primarily from Canada or Mexico. Uh, I don't think it's wrong to bring in beef if it's USDA inspected, but I do think that the consumer has the right to know where it came from is certainly his.

Yes, sir. There's no right down for companies to lie to them saying product of USA when the animal never lived in the United States. That is so wrong that that was not true until 2015. In 2015, big meat companies lobbied for that change in labeling. Prior to that, yes sir. Took care of the product of USA label. The I don't have to be born, raised and slaughtered in one of the 50 states that that changed that change for marketing reasons for big beef.

Yes, sir. I'm looking at diesel. Uh, today at $5.61 a gallon on average nationally. Sid also talked about fertilizer. What are your highest input costs? What's what's making this hurt the most for you and farmers like you? Well of course. by buying live cattle. In today's market, turning into beef is very, very expensive. Uh, you know, my my customers have made the decision to buy beef that comes from a farm like mine that was raised in the way that ours is raised.

We're very, very we spent a lot of time and effort, energy on our educational component of letting our customers know how we do it. And by the way, I'm this is not an advertise with white oak pastures. I don't water pastures, but there are a number of really good beef cattle producers, beef producers in this country that are doing it the way we're doing it. Uh, sadly, there's a big industry of commercial beef production that's not doing it the way that we do it.

That's true in this country. It's true in Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay. Uh. let's just tell the consumer the truth. Let's tell them exactly where it comes from and let them make the decision. You know, consumers can pay from us as low as. What did you say earlier? Six, um, $8 a pound for beef. As high as $13 a pound for beef. If they do, it's because the beef has their higher. Beef has attributes that the customer has made, the decision they're willing to pay.

For. Some consumers, the the, uh, uh, animal welfare of the production system is very, very important. Higher animal welfare has a great cost. So the beef cost more there. Customers that are willing to pay that there are other beef consumers that can't afford that they want the cheapest beef they can get. And I'm not trying to deprive those people of the opportunity to buy it. Uh, I'm not opposed to the importation of beef.

I'm opposed to, uh, masking the origin of a product so that the, you know, you can get more for it. Um, vehemently opposed. Sound like a man of the people to me. Will Harris. Um, I, you know, the president made a post online a little while ago right before you came on. You mentioned the beef processors, and I'd love your your thought on this. He says for years, I have heard that ranchers have a tremendous problem with the big processors, who many say are a nasty monopoly.

He said, I can't let that happen. In order to break this powerful monopoly. I am authorizing legal documents to be drawn in order to allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process their own food. Is this the right move? Right now it is. And I was there when that was that document was signed, and I'm in favor of it. You know, 85% of the beef in this country comes from four major international beef packers.

For full control, 85%. That level of market concentration is. I mean, that just hasn't happened much since the depression, but it's what we've evolved into. And, you know, the old beef is not created equal. You know, the, uh, the there's uh, currently, uh, 50% lean beef. So, uh, the value is $1.31 a pound. That's that's, uh, when you when you slaughter for fat feedlot cattle, you want to do it with a lot of products.

Oh, 50% lean beef trim is fix it fat, 50%. That product sells on average today of $1.31 per pound. That's not them. It's not edible, but it's legal to eat. It's just you. You would need it. But what the big international packers do is bring in super lean beef. Uh, 90, 90% lean beef, 95% lean beef, which is about four hours a pound. Well, you can take a pound of 95% lean imported beef. And a pound of this American product was 50% from the feedlots.

And come up with a product that is, uh, uh. 85. Uh, uh, she was 72% lean beef, and the cost is 266 per pound. Okay, $2.66 per pound for the beef. That doesn't include packaging and transportation, but it is. It's a super cheap product that can be studied by bringing this beef in. And there are people who will choose to buy it. And, uh, most people will have the right to make that choice. My my customers will not choose to buy that beef.

It is not a competitive product for me. But I do understand people who want good beef can't afford our beef. I wouldn't have a problem they can afford that would be good for them. And I think this would be mainly because they're they're Christian. All right. I might be having a little trouble with the Wi-Fi on the farm there. James. Let me know if we can still hear each other. Um, I want to ask you about interest rates are a big story today, and they've been rising.

There's something that everyone's feeling here. Have higher interest rates, reduced the value of your farm, or has the emergence of data centers actually increased it? There's no doubt about that. Caution. The, uh, the, the, the burgeoning of these things like, uh, the data centers. And yet, to illustrate, excess solar voltaic arrays and other non-agricultural uses has really caused land to not be affordable by farmers anymore.

It's very disturbing to me. I am the fourth generation to own this farm. I have grown daughters with spouses and children who will be the fifth generation. The children will be the sixth. And that just doesn't happen much