ANTWERP, New York (WWNY) – A North Country beef farmer says President Trump\u2019s plan to drop tariffs on ground beef imports is \u201ctheater\u201d that alienates rural Americans.<\/p>\n
Farmer says plan alienates rural Americans<\/p>\n
Colter Whitmore is a part-time beef farmer in Antwerp who runs Whitmore Family Farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing it now for almost 10 years,\u201d Whitmore said.<\/p>\n
His meat mostly stays local, but sometimes a small portion of it is sold in the open market where it could be found in grocery stores across the Northeast.<\/p>\n
Whitmore is skeptical of Trump\u2019s plan and doesn\u2019t believe it will actually lower prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cI firmly believe it\u2019s just for theater, and it\u2019s just to cater to certain people. In the meantime, I think it\u2019s alienated the entire rural population, the makeup of people that have cattle that are frustrated with what\u2019s going on,\u201d Whitmore said.<\/p>\n
Whitmore said he sees a disconnect between the plan and the president\u2019s messaging to rural voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sad part is a lot of people voted for the president on these \u2018America first\u2019 things, right? And I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s putting the American farmer first, the American rancher, dairy, beef – it doesn\u2019t matter. When you do something like this, that\u2019s not putting people first, in our opinion,\u201d Whitmore said.<\/p>\n
Trump plan aims to lower ground beef prices<\/p>\n
The price of ground beef is rising nationwide, spurred by strong demand and a shrinking domestic cattle population.<\/p>\n
President Trump is trying to bring prices down with a new deal allowing 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported with no \u201cout-of-quota\u201d tariff for three months. <\/p>\n
He says the imported beef will be sold at 25% lower than current market prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is working to fill a gap, a pretty big gap in the supply chain from ground beef,\u201d said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.<\/p>\n
Farm organizations also push back<\/p>\n
State and national farming organizations are also pushing back against the president\u2019s planned move.<\/p>\n
New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher said, \u201cWhile President Trump\u2019s intent to remove tariffs on imported beef might temporarily lower grocery prices, it will have a crushing effect on our already fragile domestic beef market.\u201d<\/p>\n
The National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association is also disappointed by the president\u2019s statement. The group said in a statement, \u201cFlooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd.\u201d<\/p>\n
Administration defends plan<\/p>\n
The Trump administration says the plan will cut prices for consumers while giving space for the American beef herd to grow again.<\/p>\n
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