19 Cattle Groups Urge USDA to Maintain Ban on Mexican Livestock Imports Amid Screwworm Threats
R-CALF USA
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The voice of independent cattle & sheep producers. Advocating for the profitability and prosperity of America’s ranching families. RTs/Likes≠Endorsement
- Global packers claim we need more beef imports because America can’t produce enough. But the facts say otherwise: - The U.S. beef cow herd is the smallest it’s been in 70 years. - Beef demand and consumption are up. - Ranchers and consumers are paying record prices. - Imports now
00:00 - Global packers import beef from about 20 countries, including Argentina, and sell it beside U.S. beef with no label to tell the difference. Without country of origin labeling, consumers can’t choose American beef and packers have no reason to lower prices.
- Beef prices are high because the market is broken. Years of unchecked imports and packer concentration let profits pile up at the top while ranchers and consumers both lose.
- If it's not born, raised, and processed in the U.S., it shouldn't be called American beef. Period.
- Why is the Secretary exposing the U.S. cattle herd to this unnecessary and avoidable risk by reopening the U.S. border to Mexican cattle before it completely eradicates this dangerous pest? If the mitigation measures currently deployed are as effective as the Secretary says, then
- Big Ag wanted beef imports from Brazil and Paraguay, countries not free of foot-and-mouth disease. Independent cattle producers said no. USDA said yes. The EID eartag mandate, Big Ag pushed for it. Independent cattle producers said no. USDA said yes. The $26.1 million price
- We must sever our nation’s dependency on foreign supply chains for our food, and by prioritizing the health of our U.S. cattle herd, the marketplace will help us rebuild and strengthen our domestic beef supply chain.
- For decades, cattle and beef prices moved together, when beef prices went up, so did cattle prices. But that changed in 2015. Since then, beef prices have climbed while cattle prices lagged behind, creating the widest gap in history. That disconnect is proof of market failure in
00:00 - If a human case of New World Screwworm was confirmed on or about Aug. 20, and if that fact was secretly disseminated to only a select group of industry insiders, but not simultaneously shared with all organizations representing independent livestock producers, or even with state
- The flood of Brazilian beef imports into our market displaces American cattle operations, drives families off the land, weakens the domestic beef supply chain and makes our country more dependent on foreign food. We must stop allowing Brazil to undercut America’s food supply.
- Did you know? Brazil exceeded its 65,000 metric ton beef import quota within the first 17 days of 2025 and by midyear shipped more than five times its allotted quota into the United States. Brazil’s repeated disregard for U.S. tariff rate quotas, chronic food safety failures and
- For years, importers have repackaged foreign beef and sold it under a “Product of USA” label, misleading consumers and undercutting American ranchers. It’s time to restore mandatory country of origin labeling to give Americans the right to know where their beef comes from, and
- New World Screwworm highlights the need for the United States to sever its dependency on foreign supply chains for such an important foodstuff as beef. We need the USDA to champion new policies that will incentivize the rebuilding of our domestic beef supply chain.

