Nearly 60%. That is how much more beef the United States will import over the next 90 days, according to the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, and for a cattleman in Delafield it translates into a lower check at the sale barn.
Jim Renn works Dave Morris Farms, which has been in operation since the 1940s and grows corn and soybeans alongside its cattle. With new Canadian tariffs and extra imported beef in the mix, he says his input costs have become harder to pin down. “Much like anything in agriculture, we can’t predict the weather, we can’t predict the price, we can’t predict the income, so tariffs are another thing on that list that we can’t predict,” Renn told CBS 58.
Paid last
Farming is a family business for Renn, and the family raises a mix of products. The pay schedule is what makes budgeting hard. Farmers are often not paid until their product has been processed or even consumed, and by then market prices may have moved.
Costs move in the meantime. “Diesel fuel is probably the biggest one,” Renn said. “Fertilizer costs for the crops has been terrible and it doesn’t sound like it’s going to get any better.” Higher costs like these can change a farmer’s yield and may change how many acres he plants.
A dollar a pound
The beef imports come under a Trump-era policy. The aim is lower beef prices, but Renn doesn’t expect that, and he says it is already cutting into his own income. “Not quite a dollar but pretty close to a dollar less, so when you are talking about a 14-1500-pound steer, that’s a lot of money,” he said.
He puts part of the high price down to the environment. Drought in the west and wildfires thinned cattle herds. They are growing again, but slowly, since a calf takes nine months to be born.
Renn recently met staff from the office of Republican Sen. Ron Johnson. He was glad they sat down with him to talk about the effect of these decisions, though he wants more than a meeting. “There is hope that we possibly can reverse some of it, but the hard part for us as farmers and ranchers is how do we keep those numbers up to rebuild that herd when that dollar amount goes down,” he said.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau says it appreciates the President’s goal of reducing costs and securing fair trade. It also says farmers and rural communities bear the brunt of the actions.
