In a recent conversation on the Oklahoma Farm Report, Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays sat down with Dr. Nevil Speer, beef industry consultant, to discuss President Donald Trump’s recent comments on beef prices — remarks that have stirred frustration among cattle producers.
Hays opened by noting that President Trump had “poured gasoline on the fire” with his social media post claiming credit for ranchers’ success and criticizing them for not understanding the impact of his tariffs. The President had said, “Cattle ranchers, who I love, don’t understand that the only reason they’re doing so well is because I put tariffs on cattle coming into the United States, including a 50% tariff on Brazil.”
Hays highlighted that many in the industry, including NCBA CEO Colin Woodall, were “very upset that the President does not seem to understand the importance of cattle producers being able to make a profit and allow the market to work.” Read more comments from Woodall here.
Turning to Dr. Speer, Hays posed a hypothetical: “What if President Trump was on the other line wanting some advice? He says, ‘Nevil, I need some help what kind of magic have you got to make this thing really be better for all concerned, especially our cattle producers?’”
Dr. Speer replied, saying, “That’s a really interesting question, Ron, because I was just telling my wife I had a line in one of my columns that I took out because it seemed a little snarky — that Donald Trump doesn’t understand the business.” He continued, “If he were going to call me, I would encourage him to be asking more questions of the business and learning the history and trying to understand the market before he starts to take action.”
Speer stressed the complexity of the cattle industry, explaining, “This is, I would argue, the most complex business of any in the world, and it’s a big business. You need to understand it fully before you just decide you’re going to work your magic. You don’t know enough to work the magic.”
Hays wrapped up by noting Speer’s key question for the future: “Will the President be willing to listen to the industry, or is he going to pursue lower prices?” Hays added that this leads to a deeper issue — “how do you get there, and what’s a fair price for consumers when you’ve got other proteins well under the price of beef that they can go to as a substitute?”
The discussion underscored a clear concern: while Trump’s intentions may be to help consumers, both Hays and Speer emphasized that any actions must come with a deeper understanding of the cattle market’s complexity and the importance of profitability for U.S. producers.
