The Trump administration is blaming the Biden administration’s “war on cattle” and illegal immigration for the sharp rise in beef prices hitting American consumers.
According to federal retail price data, the average price of a pound of ground beef reached $6.32 in September, up 11.4% from the same time last year and the highest level in more than 40 years. The average price of a pound of uncooked beef steaks was $12.62, up 12.7% from a year ago.
Beef prices began rising steadily in 2009 under the Obama administration, slowed somewhat during President Donald Trump’s first term and then surged again during the Biden administration. The U.S. cattle herd is now at a 70-year low, with drought and inflation-driven costs hitting ranchers nationwide.
“We are suffering from the last administration’s literal war on cattle,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox Business on Monday. “If you remember, they wanted to reduce the herd sizes because they believe that cattle cause climate change.
“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.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also attributed rising prices to illegal immigration, reportedly saying migrants brought diseased cattle into the U.S., which forced the Trump administration to halt beef imports from Mexico, the nation’s second-largest foreign supplier.
“Because of the mass immigration, a disease that we’d been rid of in North America made its way up from South America, as these migrants brought some of their cattle with them,” Bessent said, referring to New World screwworm, a parasite that the U.S. and Mexico have jointly worked to eradicate.
Bessent said the Trump administration is “laser focused” on reversing the trend, calling the situation “the perfect storm” and “something we inherited.”
Rollins pushed back on a warning by Omaha Steaks CEO Nate Rempe that the shrinking cattle supply and record demand could push beef to “$10 per pound” by the third quarter of 2026. Rollins said the Trump administration plans to expand grazing lands and reopen key cattle ports, moves she said could help bring prices down by next summer.
“The Trump administration has released a new plan,” Rollins said. “We are moving toward opening up 5 million acres of grazing land. 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.”
President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order reducing tariffs on a range of imported commodities, including beef, coffee, and tropical fruits, in response to consumer pressure over rising prices. Trump on Nov. 7 directed the Department of Justice to investigate meatpacking companies he believes are driving up beef prices through illegal practices.
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