Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to debate hovering meat costs, China’s stalled soybean offers and an enormous SNAP fraud crackdown shaking Washington.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pushed again on predictions that People may quickly pay $10 per pound for beef, telling FOX Enterprise the Trump administration’s plan to develop grazing lands and reopen key cattle ports is predicted to deliver costs down by subsequent summer season — and hold them decrease by way of 2026.
“The Trump administration has released a new plan. We are moving toward opening up five million acres of grazing land,” USDA’s Rollins stated on “Mornings with Maria” Monday. “And the president is hyper, hyper-focused on this. So our numbers and our formulas are showing that prices will start coming down as soon as next spring, and certainly by summer and fall of next year.”
On Friday, Omaha Steaks’ CEO, Nate Rempe, stated the nation’s shrinking cattle provide and report demand are driving a “$10-per-pound reality” that would stretch household budgets for years.
“We are headed for what I’m calling … the $10-a-pound reality. By [the] third quarter of ’26, families are gonna see $10 a pound [for] ground beef in the grocery store. So we’re in for a bit of a haul here,” Rempe stated. “I don’t believe we’ll see price[s] come down in any meaningful way until sometime in 2027.”
OMAHA STEAKS CEO WARNS AMERICAN FAMILIES WILL SOON FACE ‘$10-A-POUND REALITY’ FOR BEEF
Beef costs are at report highs after a drought left the U.S. cattle stock at its lowest degree in 70 years. Based on the newest Shopper Value Index knowledge from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, beef and veal costs rose 14.7% 12 months over 12 months in September, whereas raw floor beef was up 12.9%.
Packages of meat are seen at a grocery grocery store in Houston, Texas, on Could 15, 2025. (Getty Photographs)
The Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis’ newest Sept. 2025 studying reveals the typical U.S. value for a pound of beef is $6.30.
“He was very well-spoken. I do believe, though, that his forecast is not going to be correct,” Rollins responded. “But the idea that we won’t get prices down until 2027, I think there are a couple of important factors here.”
“We are suffering from the last administration’s literal war on cattle. If you remember, they wanted to reduce the herd sizes because they believe that cattle caused climate change,” she began to clarify. “The second thing is that there is no doubt, because of drought … that we are at a low herd size. Now you marry that to the fact that we have an 8% increase in protein and beef demand in the market. People want more beef.”
Omaha Steaks President and CEO Nate Rempe weighs in on surging beef costs forward of the vacations, arguing that the U.S. must ‘rebuild the herd.’
“And again, you’re in this perfect storm that we’re in.”
The Trump administration on Friday introduced a number of new commerce offers that would result in tariff reductions on sure items, together with beef exports from Argentina. The framework for a cope with Argentina additionally consists of decrease tariffs on Argentine beef imports however doesn’t enhance the US’ import quota, FOX Enterprise beforehand reported.
Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., additionally joined “Mornings with Maria” on Monday, the place he mentioned excessive beef costs and voiced help for the White Home’s quick-response measures.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Congressman Troy Downing, R-Mont., joined ‘Mornings with Maria’ to debate the shutdown’s financial toll, record-high beef costs and the president’s $2,000 aid plan amid rising fears of inflation and rising debt.
“One of my concerns, coming from a beef-producing state, is that we get beef prices high enough that folks start looking for alternative proteins, which would be bad for my district,” Downing stated. “We need to really be focused on regrowing that American herd.”
“I think these are short-term fixes to try to get to the real goal of – how do we regrow the American herd? How do we make sure that our farmers and ranchers are doing what they can do to be successful? Because we don’t want to disadvantage them, but we need to be very careful that we don’t get to $10 or greater [for] ground beef, because at that point, families on budgets are gonna stop buying beef … and it’s going to be really difficult for the industry to crawl back from that.”
READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS
