The Squeeze on America's Ranchers
This Thanksgiving, driving over the hills with generational cattle producers I know personally, I learned more about America’s beef supply chain in an hour than most people learn in a lifetime. These families — the ones who raise the cattle that feed this nation — are being pushed out of the very industry they built.  
Consumers see record-high beef prices. Packers and retailers see record profits. Ranchers? Many are still trying to breathe. The harsh truth is that the price you pay at the store has almost nothing to do with what the rancher earns. Four giant corporations now control more than 80% of beef processing, dictating prices and leaving ranchers as unwilling “price takers” in a system they no longer influence.  
Meanwhile, foreign beef can legally be labeled “Product of USA” if it’s merely repackaged here. This misleads consumers and undercuts domestic producers fighting for transparency and fairness.  
When cattle prices finally improved in 2024, imported beef surged — often lower-value trim used for grinding — immediately pushing ranchers back down. At the same time, American packers ship many premium cuts overseas where foreign buyers pay more, while cheaper beef comes into our own market. Ranchers call it what it is: “Upscale beef out, discount beef in.”  
On top of that, ranchers now pay $2 per head into the Beef Checkoff, a program they say promotes imported beef as much as their own. As one producer put it, “We’re paying to promote the system that undercuts us.”  
These family operations are the backbone of rural America, yet many fear they won’t survive another decade of consolidation, mislabeling, and market manipulation. If they disappear, America loses food independence, land stewardship, rural economies, and a culture rooted in responsibility and grit.  
The public assumes the system is fair — it isn’t. They assume “Product of USA” means American beef — it doesn’t. And they assume ranchers thrive when beef is expensive — they don’t.
If we want a future where American beef is raised by American families on American land, now is the time to listen — and to act.
Read the full exposé online for expanded data and insights.