Why cattlemen say Trump speak of Argentine beef imports isn’t any resolution

Cattle ranchers in Texas and across the nation are involved that the screwworm, a parasitic fly that was as soon as eradicated within the U.S., is threatening a comeback from the Mexican border and up to date speak from President Donald Trump about importing beef from Argentina isn’t any long-term resolution for a beef provide chain already underneath stress or customers who’ve watched beef costs hit document ranges.

The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs within the open wounds of warm-blooded animals. The larvae then hatches from the eggs and burrows into tissue of animals to feed on them. If caught early, the sick animal will be handled and survive. Human circumstances are uncommon however will be painful and require medical consideration. In August, the the U.S. Division of Agriculture mentioned in a press release that the Division of Well being and Human Providers and Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recognized a case of the flesh-eating parasite in an individual in Maryland who returned to the U.S. after touring to El Salvador.

The New World screwworm was efficiently eradicated from the USA in 1966. However the Maryland case and different latest appearances in Mexico have cattle ranchers in Texas and across the nation on edge. Mexico’s Nationwide Service of Agro-Alimentary Well being, Security, and High quality confirmed on October 6 one other case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Nuevo Leon, a metropolis that borders the U.S. It marked the nation’s second confirmed case in roughly two weeks.

“Texas is a fabric contributor to the meat trade,” mentioned Andrew Coppin, co-founder and CEO of ranch administration firm Ranchbot Monitoring Options. “You’ve got tens of millions of beef cattle alongside the southern border alone.”

The U.S. Division of Agriculture has closed the border to Mexico for imports of reside cattle, bison, and horses on and off since 2024 because of the unfold of the New World screwworm. The border is at present closed. Earlier than the closure, Mexico was an exporter of calves to the U.S., with USDA knowledge displaying the U.S. imported over a million cattle yearly, roughly 3.3% of the U.S. whole calf crop.

Sixth-generation Texas rancher James Clement III advised CNBC the important thing to eradicating the screwworm menace is years out. To fight the unfold of the flies, the USDA disperses sterile flies into the world to cease the mating, a scientific technique referred to as sterile insect approach (SIT). It was the rationale for the profitable eradication of the flies within the U.S. However Clement mentioned the flies used beforehand have been introduced in from Panama and whereas the USDA has mentioned it’s dedicated to creating a home sterile fly manufacturing facility, “that’s at the very least two or three years away. By then will probably be too little to late,” he mentioned.

The USDA didn’t reply to a request for remark for this text. In an look on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” on Tuesday morning, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, mentioned, “I feel you will be listening to extra about precisely what that appears like,” in response to a query in regards to the Argentine beef import concept.

Clement, whose household enterprise has operated a number of ranches during the last 400 years, mentioned American ranching has advanced and has develop into extra environment friendly. Whereas that is good for manufacturing, in instances of threats like biohazards corresponding to screwworm, it’s a problem.

“We require much less labor now so it will be troublesome and difficult to detect an contaminated cattle,” he mentioned. “We do not have the individuals to verify each head of cattle each day. Most of this cattle are free vary and the grass pastures are massive.”

The USDA, alongside Mexico, has been monitoring almost 8,000 traps throughout Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico since July. Greater than 13,000 screening samples have been submitted, with no NWS flies detected.

However Clement says, “that is spreading shortly. A yr in the past, screwworm was already in southern Mexico, then it unfold into central and northern Mexico. Now it’s taking place simply south of our border. It isn’t a matter of if screwworm spreads to the U.S., it is when.”

Clement mentioned the scenario is including to the supply-demand imbalance within the cattle trade which has already elevated as a consequence of drought. Beef costs have climbed to document highs after cattle ranchers slashed their herds as a consequence of dried-up lands used for grazing. Feed prices rose because of this.

In line with authorities knowledge, as of July 2025, the U.S. cattle herd is roughly 94.2 million head, the bottom stock since 1951.

Coppin tells CNBC the important thing part to rising herd dimension is water.

“Usually, ranches have 1000’s of acres and cattle,” Coppin mentioned. “Much less grasslands because of much less water equals smaller herds.”

He estimated 30% of the U.S. continues to be in drought situations.

“The query ranchers are asking themselves is, will I’ve sufficient feed to feed my herd?  Because of this grasslands are vital. Feed is an enormous enter price that eats into the margin of ranchers,” he mentioned.

Coppin mentioned whereas the importing of beef from Argentina might decrease the price of beef for customers (futures had dropped sharply after Trump’s feedback however have since trended up once more), for ranchers dealing with drought and screwworm, the incentives to rising herd dimension are dwindling.

“Ranchers don’t need their product to be substituted,” Coppin mentioned.

Lately, some U.S. ranchers have begun taking steps to start out rebuilding herds. Nonetheless, ranchers and beef provide chain consultants like Coppin say it takes about two years earlier than beef output rises as a result of it takes time to boost full-grown cattle.

The Nationwide Cattlemen’s Beef Affiliation mentioned in assertion on Monday after President Trump floated his concept to import beef from Argentina over the weekend that it was urging Trump and Congress to permit the market to work moderately intervene and hurt rural America.

“This plan solely creates chaos at a vital time of the yr for American cattle producers, whereas doing nothing to decrease grocery retailer costs,” mentioned Colin Woodall, CEO of NCBA.

Republican Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska urged President Donald Trump to rethink his proposal for the U.S. to purchase beef from Argentina in a social media put up on Tuesday.

“We have had an enormous run on beef during the last decade,” Rollins mentioned on CNBC on Tuesday. “Huge consolidation, which has not been good for our ranching trade, and we now have offshored numerous that. There is a actually, actually vital realignment that has to occur for us to start to onshore and reshore for our beef producers, for our ranchers,” she mentioned.

“The costs are excessive and the president could be very targeted on fulfilling his promise of bringing grocery costs down … however you are additionally going to listen to from us within the subsequent few days about what we’re going to do to incentivize, to open up new land, to make it simpler to develop into a rancher,” Rollins continued. “We have got a reasonably large package deal popping out,” she added, noting the CNBC look was the primary time she had talked about the plans publicly.

The NCBA cited Argentina’s “deeply unbalanced commerce relationship” with the U.S. Prior to now 5 years, Argentina has bought greater than $801 million of beef into the U.S. market. By comparability, the U.S. has bought simply over $7 million value of American beef to Argentina, based on NCBA knowledge. It famous Argentina additionally has a historical past of foot-and-mouth illness, which if delivered to the USA, might decimate home livestock manufacturing.

Rollins estimated throughout her CNBC look that 2 million of the 12 million metric tons of beef consumed yearly now within the U.S. come from abroad, and any improve from Argentina would “not be very a lot” in comparison with that whole, particularly in gentle of USDA issues about foot and mouth illness.

Clement mentioned having the federal government step in and attempt to regulate the markets is just not what the U.S. needs to be targeted on.

“The market will care for itself,” Clement mentioned. “We’d like the federal government stopping and stamping out screwworm. Then we are able to recruit the following technology saying, ‘ranching is a occupation that you are able to do to care for your loved ones, and have a great high quality of life. The federal government will take care of us by means of biosecurity and the prevention of animal illness. Not manipulating the markets.'”