The Multiple Crises Affecting Beef

Published: Aug 2026
By: Marbleseed

This week, Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden issued a statement in response to the Trump administration's to allow additional ground beef imports at lower tariffs.

“Families are frustrated by high grocery prices, and farmers understand that frustration because our costs have gone up, too. But increasing beef imports sidesteps a bigger question: Why is there such a wide gap between what consumers pay for beef and what makes its way back to the farm?” he said.

The Trump administration's decision comes in response to consumer frustration at record prices. Ground beef rose nearly 57% from July 2021 to July 2026, with a pound going from $4.39 to $6.8. While a pound of steak has increased 35%, reaching a record $13.06.

High prices for consumers and low return for farmers is a hydra-like problem, with multiple issues contributing. One of them is drought. Seventy-five percent of the already small U.S. cattle currently resides in high drought areas. Wildfires have destroyed grassland. The current El Nino, which is expected to raise temperatures even more in the next year, is just getting started.

This week, new rules for managing the dwindling Colorado River were announced. The river provides irrigation to a major portion of alfalfa and other livestock feed crops. A 2024 study published in Communications Earth & Environment, found that nearly half of all the water drawn from the Colorado River goes to growing feed for beef and dairy cows – nearly twice as much water as the combined use of every city that relies on the river, including Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles.

The ongoing war in Iran is also playing a role in higher beef costs, as fertilizer and gas prices remain high. And as Von Ruden pointed out, consolidation is yet another factor: “Four companies control more than 80% of U.S. beef processing. With that much market power concentrated in so few hands, bringing in more imported beef does nothing to address the lack of competition in the system.”

These crises – caused by climate, war, corporatization, and more – are combining in ways that are difficult or impossible to untangle. Bearing the brunt of them are farmers and consumers.

As Von Ruden said in his statement, “We need solutions that lower costs for families while strengthening American agriculture. That means enforcing antitrust laws, supporting independent and regional processors, improving price transparency, and giving farmers more places to sell their livestock.”

Eating beef grown close to home, is one part of the solution. This puts a wrench in an overly convoluted supply chain. Local meat supports local farmers, keeps food money in our communities, and often provides higher-quality nutrition. It doesn't suck water from the West's dying water sources, and it doesn't line the pockets of multinational companies.